capella university understands nurses are dealing with a than wider range of issues. and there are ever-changing regulations. when you see these challenges, do you want to back away or take charge? with a degree in the field of healthcare or nursing from capella university, you'll have the knowledge to advance your career while making a difference in the lives of patients. let's get started at capella.edu. tell me you have good insurance. yup, i've got... [ voice of dennis ] ...allstate. really? i was afraid you'd have some cut-rate policy. nope, i've got... [ voice of dennis ] the allstate value plan. it's their most affordable car insurance -- and you still get an allstate agent. i too have... [ voice of dennis ] allstate. [ normal voice ] same agent and everything. it's like we're connected. no we're not. yeah, we are. no, we're not. ♪ ask an allstate agent about the value plan. are you in good hands?

at the top of the show, we asked, why are you awake? we have a lot of interesting responses today. john tower has a few. hey, john. >> darren writes, my fake i recall grend is in town early today. on twitter, i'm up because i thought i saw you walking on garden street a few years ago. am i right if >> i think you probably are right. let's face it, with no makeup and no suit, i don't look very good on the street, so you might not have thought it was me, but it actually was. all right, john, thank you very much. "morning joe" begins right now.

♪ it's vince with shamewow! you'll be using this towel every time to wipe away your shame. don't worry, shamewow wipes it away like that. lied about doping and threw everyone under the bus? just insert one end of your ear and pull it out the other end. look at that, shame is gone. shamewow works for every shame at any time. lip-sync the national anthem, pooped your big boy pants, expose your crown jewels, ten-week marriage, sorry for party rockin'? don't worry. shamewow has you covered. >> okay, that was exhausting. what a frightening year. good morning, everyone. welcome to "morning joe." it's enthusiast, january 24th. joe has the morning off. i'm here with willie geist. joining us on set, author of "thomas jefferson: the art of power," jon meacham.

the chairman of deutsche incorporated, donny deutsch. former treasury official and "morning joe" economic analyst, steve rattner. and in washington, capitol hill nbc news capitol hill correspondent, kelly o'donnell. good to have you on board this morning. >> good to see you. >> teasing ahead to a story i'm going to do second, because we're going to start with secretary clinton, i just want to know first thought what your gut is on women in combat. rattner. >> the time had come. they were doing everything else. >> meacham? >> my sense is when you talk to people in the military, it was recognizing a fact on the ground. women were more and more in these roles but weren't being given the proper credit and proper advancement. >> kelly o.? >> i think it's that advancement piece because in talking to members in congress, they all said boy, in our constituents and home states, we know so many women who have been put in such positions of treachery, peril and injury and death. and this is a way to get the credit for being in combat to advance. >> okay.

and willie geist? >> more than 100 women have been killed in iraq and afghanistan. hundreds more have been wounded. they're already up in those positions. if they want to be there and qualify, they ought to be. >> donny. >> no-brainer, obviously. >> what's that? >> no-brainer, obviously. >> no-brainer. >> they've earned it. we continue to move in the direction of less and less difference between the genders, and as far as professionalism, this is no exception. >> i think we know in almost every organization having women in leadership positions has helped that organization. >> mika and i talk a lot about that. i'm going to give my 60-second spiel about how women are superior to men in business. given the same talent, i'll take the woman every time because they're more collaborative, less concerned with how big their office is. women are superior to men in business. obviously, it's a generalizat n generalization. >> actually, just a necessary participant in any, you know, business or political -- it just really makes a good difference

to have more women at the top. >> and also, the nature of workers has changed. it's not about carrying a 90-pound -- a technical, highly mechanized. >> there are some jobs they physically can't do. >> there are some jobs men can't do. >> yeah. i think it's interesting. i asked my daughters about it, trying to generate a conversation at the table, and they were like, what? no-brainer, like you said. of course. it's interesting the attitudes over the generations. i have some concerns. >> girls, is that what you're trying to say? >> oh, god. speaking of women, secretary of state hillary clinton testified before the house and senate foreign affairs committee on the attacks in benghazi four months ago. clinton stood her ground against tough questions by republicans who wanted to know what she knew and when she knew it. nbc's chief foreign affairs correspondent, andrea mitchell, takes us through the contentious hearing. >> reporter: after a fall, a concussion and a blood clot, hillary clinton showed rare

public emotion, reflecting the toll benghazi has taken on her. >> for me, this is not just a matter of policy. it's personal. i stood next to president obama as the marines carried those flag-draped caskets off the plane at andrews. i put my arms around the mothers and fathers, the sisters and brothers, the sons and daughters and the wives left alone to raise their children. >> reporter: she said she takes responsibility for what happened. >> as i have said many times, i take responsibility, and nobody is more committed to getting this right. >> reporter: her critics were not disarmed. they wanted to know why couldn't ambassador chris stevens and three other americans be rescued? why were repeated security warnings ignored? including a cable from the ambassador on 9/11, the day of the attack, the day he was killed. >> i'm glad that you're accepting responsibility. i think that ultimately with your leaving, you accept the culpability for the worst tragedy since 9/11, and i really

mean that. had i been president at the time and i found that you did not read the cables from benghazi, you did not read the cables from ambassador stevens, i would have relieved you of your post. i think it's inexcusable. >> reporter: hostile questions all day, clinton was also the political pro, massaging big egos, sidestepping attacks when she could. when she couldn't, giving as good as she got. >> we were misled that there were supposedly protests and that something sprang out of that, and that was easily ascertained that that was not the fact. >> but -- >> and the american people could have known that within days and they didn't know that. >> with all due respect, the fact is we had four dead americans. was it because of a protest or was it because of guys out for a walk one night who decided they'd go kill some americans? what difference, at this point, does it make? it is our job to figure out what happened and do everything we can to prevent it from ever happening again, senator. >> the answers, frankly, that you've given this morning are not satisfactory to me.

were you and the president made aware of the classified cable from chris stevens that the united states consulate in benghazi could not survive a sustained assault? numerous warnings including personally to me about the security, were unanswered or unaddressed. >> reporter: she countered that congress has cut money for security. >> currently the house has holds on bilateral security assistance, on other kinds of support for anti-terrorism assistance. so we've got to get our act together between the administration and the congress. >> reporter: after a break, the house was even tougher than the senate. >> i think when you have a united states ambassador personally warning about the situation over there, sending this cable to your office -- >> if i could -- 1.43 million cables a year come to the state department. they are all addressed to me. >> madam secretary, you let the consulate become a death trap.

and that's national security malpractice. >> reporter: throughout the day, the subtext for partisans on both sides, this was not the last act for hillary clinton. >> you will be sorely missed, but i, for one, hope not for too long. >> madam secretary, first let me thank you for your service, and i wish you the best in your future endeavors, mostly. >> okay, that was incredible on so many levels. by the way, that sound bite where you see hillary clinton, secretary of state, waving her arms saying what difference does it make, that, to me, encapsulates the difference between the way women think and the way men think. just look at it again. >> i don't know if that's -- no, no no, no. that is not a man/woman issue. >> yes, it is. >> that is the way a leader thinks, a presidential candidate, somebody who is heads and tails above everybody else in that room thinks, which is let's talk about the issue.

let's talk about the problem. let's solve any future potential disasters like this as opposed to retroactively looking at a cable that came in. that was somebody who's head and shoulders above everybody else in the room. >> it was about whether or not there were protests, but still. >> yes. and rand paul, and this is also a look at -- the faces of the republicans, rand paul, ron johnson and john mccain looked so pathetic. and to me, there's something called decorum. and when rand paul sits there and to the second highest ranking official in our country and someone who has done a spectacular job says i would have had your job, that's pathetic. that's the amateur hour. and that's the republicans. >> willie. >> he's got a right to challenge her on it. he's not supposed to sit there. >> that is nir jtheir job. >> and just celebrate you. >> i would have relieved you of your duty? >> that's an idiot. >> kelly o'donnell, you were up on the hill yesterday. aside from all the fireworks, we saw some good pieces of videotape there. did we learn anything new actually about what happened on september 11th in benghazi?

is there any new information to come out of that hearing? >> well, there were some threads and details that were interesting, i thought. secretary clinton talked about the fact that they did not have access to the surveillance video that showed what went on for a period of weeks. i think most of us thought that they had been watching this in realtime. and she clarified that when they hear the term "realtime," they had been on the phone with some of their contacts in libya when the attack was unfolding. so there was some granular detail which is interesting, and it's important in understanding what they knew and how they responded. a lot of what goes on here in a hearing like this is, this is a complex issue, and there are things looking forward, and there are things that are important when you understand what decisions were made at the time. whether there was a protest or not, certainly for democrats, they've moved on off of that issue. for republicans, it lingers as a question because of the notion of understanding what was happening at the time in order to make decisions and how on

respond. and in the public part of it, was the public told the truth? could the truth have been made more available sooner? so there are legitimate questions here. i think when you look at tone and demeanor of various members, you can certainly judge that through different political lenses. there is wide respect for hillary clinton in both parties. sometimes in those moments when members are asking questions, it's about really their own moment. they all send out their clips to their constituents, and it's important for them as individuals. watching all of this, which is my job, i get to do that every day so you don't have to, i think the overall tone was very respectful, and it was provocative in certain places. and it should be given how important this was. >> one of the exchanges you're talking about came with senator ron johnson, the republican from wisconsin. we heard it in andrea's piece. he talked about the emotion clinton showed during her testimony. he told buzzfeed, quote, i think she just decided before she was going to describe emotionally the four dead americans, the

heroes, and use that as her trump card to get out of the questions. >> no. >> it was a good way of getting out of really having to respond to me. >> obviously, americans died. and she took responsibility for that. i mean, that's -- that was the first thing that came out of her mouth, was that this is on me. now what are we going to do about this? so i guess it's how you look at the testimony. >> i think it was an absolutely perfect virtuoso hillary clinton performance. as you say, she took responsibility, she accepted every recommendation of the study group to look into it. nobody i think who is rational expects her to be looking at millions of cables every year that come to the state department. i think she handled it perfectly. and i think for all -- i think she made those congresspeople and representatives look small. i think she looked big. and i think this is the end of it. >> it does raise an interesting question. if the ambassador himself sends a cable, what level should that reach? that's one of the questions they were asking because she knew chris stevens personally.

so did john mccain and others on the committee who had that personal connection. the secretary is certainly right, that they all come addressed to her. 1.43 million a year. but part of what they were trying to say is, how do we find out if there are hotspots and an ambassador is sending something that is really that dire, why shouldn't it reach the secretary? and that seems to be a legitimate question. and she addressed that as well. that there needs to be a better way for those sorts of red alarm bells to reach the right people quickly enough. so that's something that we learn through this process. >> meacham? >> kelly, it's jon meacham. give us some more context here because the quotation on the front page of "the wall street journal" is the more emotional moment about what difference does it make? we have four dead americans. how do we prevent it from happening again. i don't think anyone rationally disagrees with that. however, it does matter what we were told and when we were told it. it does matter will this was an organized attack or whether it

was spontaneous. i don't think, as senator clinton used to say in a different context, it's kind of a false choice in that sound bite. so can you give us the context for the whole day and what she was saying about understanding what happened in the initial hours as opposed to the issue of what do we do now going forward? >> what i found so interesting is when you look at sort of the drilled-down moments of 5 1/2 hours, that emotion she showed was only in, like, two sentences. she was very controlled. and that was very appropriate in that moment. the sort of outburst with what's the difference, that was the only time she ever really raised her voice. so those were important moments, but they don't reflect the whole nature of the day. what i was struck by is she was talking about what she was doing at the time. and much of what she was doing that i found fascinating is she was talking to some of the other countries. she reminded us all they were very focused on what was happening in cairo, not yet understanding the gravity of what would unfold in libya. so she was talking to some of

the various contacts in those other countries that were experiencing the video-related protests. and what i thought was interesting is she was having to deal with them in a way that a secretary of state usually doesn't have to deal with our allies. in egypt, which for decades was a strong ally of the u.s., she was having to call and basically tell them, get your people there to protect our people. in libya at one point, she said, can't we just go bang down the door where the militias are and get them to come help our people? it was an insight into sort of the desperate hours that she was dealing with with multiple hotspots. and that was a window into her world and the decision-making in realtime that i found very fascinating. >> you know, just having watched the testimony, it was just, to me, fascinating to see a woman in the hot seat like that testifying, running the gamut from tears to anger to disgust and walking away feeling like you just saw somebody do exactly what they should have done.

>> and the depth of her knowledge, it was amazing. >> fantastic. >> it's worth pointing out, a lot of people that watched that yesterday started thinking about 2016 inevitably as she leaves her job at state, she leaves, according to an abc/"washington post" poll with favorability at 67%. contrast that to joe biden who's at 48%. just a number to put out there. >> i also think it's interesting, when you're talking 2016, she was very clear about separating herself from the thing that got the most political flap. she had nothing to do with susan rice being chosen, she said. she had nothing to do with the talking points. she walled that off. and instead focused on the things that -- and she had a very legitimate way of describing where her focus was. but when so much of the political talk in the final weeks of the election campaign were about talking points and so forth, which is its own legitimate area, it was interesting to see how careful she was in making certain that she had no part in that. >> one other story we were talking about at the top of the

show, the pentagon today will announce that women will now be allowed to serve in full combat roles. at first they'll be phased into roles working as medics and manning artillery, but eventually they could serve in elite commando units directly in the line of fire. for the past ten years, u.s. military women have served at the front lines in both iraq and afghanistan but never in combat. 152 women have been killed in the course of both conflicts. of course, we've been talking around the table about this. there are some contrarian points of view. >> yeah, there's a piece on the op-ed page of "the wall street journal" this morning. ryan smith is a marine infantrymen that served in iraq. he writes about "the reality that awaits women in combat. societal norms are a reality, and their maintenance is important to most members of a society. despite the professionalism of marines, it would be zrakting and traumatizing to be forced to be naked in front of the opposite sex, particularly when

your body has been ravaged by lack of hygiene. in the reverse, it would be painful to witness a member of the opposite sex in such an uncomfortable and awkward position. combat effectiveness is based in large part on unit cohesion. the relationships among members of a unit can be irreparably harmed by forcing them to violate societal norms." >> can we have an honest conversation about this? is there a point to be made there? >> first of all, when you're a serviceman like him, his opinion is meaningful whether you agree or disagree. we've got to show him that respect. i'm assuming that once that uniform goes on, the gender lines change. obviously, i've never been in combat. so, look. this is not a black-and-white issue. and one could also take it to the next level and say women, as long as there's a physical threshold level, and men or women. yes, we all feel the same way emotionally, but i have a feeling if you did talk to a lot of people that have done tours, they might have some different points of view, and we've got to listen to those, clearly. >> i think it obviously, as this

piece points out, definitely creates some complications, but the bottom line, it has to be done. if we want to be there, we should be there. and if we choose to serve and we have the physical capability to do so, we should be there. >> and by the way, they're not just opening up the floodgates and saying anybody who wants to come forward, come forward. they'll have to meet the standard. >> not a lot of women will get there easily, for sure. >> but it would be good for panetta, lar particularly, as h leaves to really make a case for this, really explain all of the thinking, all the complications because of the, you know, unit cohesion, also your devotion to your comrades. and when they're in trouble, soldiers are always protecting one another. you talk to anyone who's been in combat, they say you're not fighting for the flag explicitly in your mind. you're fighting for those you're with. >> opinions on twitter @morningmika. i'm getting a lot of good

questions. >> on the other hand, there are few announcements like this greeted with as much bipartisan support as this one was. i don't think this is all that controversial. >> i always like to make the case for it. senator dianne feinstein is expected to reintroduce the assault weapons ban today, potentially putting into place new regulations on handguns, shotguns and rifles. among other things, the plan would ban the sale or transfer of about 150 types of firearms. but even supporters of reforms in the senate are having a hard time drumming up the support they need at home. front page of "the new york times" today, democrat joe manchin of west virginia has faced doubts within his constituency who feel the second amendment is in jeopardy. "the times" describes the senator's attempts to reassure his constituents about the political climate in washington. he said i see no movement, no talk, no bills, no nothing. they remained skeptical. we give up our rights one piece

at a time. a banker named charlie houck. he actually had a meeting and said how many of you are concerned you're going to lose your second amendment rights? all the hands went up. that shows how difficult it's going to be, even at this table, it seems to clear what needs to be done. that's not the way everybody feels. >> i'm disappointed mr. scarborough is not at this table because we had a heated one-on-one about first and second amendment about video games, comparing it to slippery slope on the second amendment. i've done a lot of research since then. i want to go back at him on that. this is a black-and-white issue again. to draw the line and say that in some way, shape or form we are going back to the founders' vision of what the second amendment is is just false. it's just that simple. >> but there's a fear out there, steve rattner. you read the article, manchin was, you know, trying to explain

to these people that you will not lose your -- and they do not hear it at all. there is a real fear that this is going to chip away at one of the most important things that they stand by and what this country stands by. >> the nra, i think, has been extraordinarily successful at creating that impression, that if you give up one thing, you give up your 30-round magazines, you give up your assault weapons, that the next thing that's going to happen are going to be your shotguns or your rifles or your hunting guns. >> right. >> and i don't see any reason why that's true. i don't think there's any particular evidence that it's true, but that is the ethos that they have created around this issue. and what i think people have to break through, including people like senator manchin who is in a much more reasonable place. >> if you read that "times" piece, joe manchin is facing the consequences of what he said sitting in that chair. >> exactly. >> the monday after newtown, he came in here and said you know what? we've got to sit down and have a reasonable conversation. i'm an a-plus member of the nra, but we've got to talk about limiting some of these things. he said picket outside his

office. he's faced tough town hall meetings. he's understanding what it means to be someone in a state like west virginia to come out and even consider the possibilities of limiting some gun rights. >> that's what leaders do. that's what leaders do. >> if joe manchin -- the jeremy peters piece is really good because you actually realize what it's like to be a lawmaker, not just yapping, but actually meeting the constituents and dealing with it. but also i think for this to succeed, you're going to have to get some republicans who are going to do a nixon goes to china. joe manchin is a red state democrat. he's a governor, a very sensible guy, but he is a democrat, no? >> we want you to join our conversation online. tweet your comments on any of our top talker stories. @morni @morningmika or @joenbc. still ahead, john barrasso, jane harman, hall of fame quarterback john elway and writer and director of the film "silver linings playbook," david o. russell. up next, jim vandehei with the

top stories in the "politico playbook." first, the latest on the frigid temperatures outside. bill karins with a check on the forecast. >> i think, mika, get to day two or three, your body gets used to it. the winds around as bad as yesterday. first things first, look out the window down through virginia, i'm sure the ground is covered. you got some snow last night. only picked up about a dusting to two inches in most areas. coastal maryland picked up as much as three or four. it's just about over with. hopefully the sidewalks will brush off easily. it's a light, fluffy snow. give yourself a little extra time. now for those temperatures. the cold spots continue to be northern new england and northern portions of wisconsin and minnesota. the icebox of america, international falls this morning, it is minus 33 degrees. that's without any wind whatsoever. now when we factor in the windchills, it's a little bit breezy around chicago and green bay. that's why it feels so bitterly cold for you. and northern new england, windchills are as low as minus 20 to minus 30. not exactly enjoyable either.

from indianapolis to d.c. so what's going to happen today? it's another cold day, but most areas will be in and out of the sun. sun and clouds. we will see snow showers around chicago. the whole southern half of the country is kind of just laughing at us in the north because it's very warm and beautiful from phoenix to dallas all the way to miami. and if you're on the eastern seaboard anywhere from the mississippi to the east, you have a likely chance of seeing some snow showers. this includes areas from ohio valley, great lakes, and new england through the mid-atlantic. that's going to be friday afternoon and evening, a dusting to two inches. again, that's tomorrow that snow is expected. you're watching "morning joe." another cold, frigid start in d.c. we're brewed by starbucks 37 twins. i didn't see them coming. i have obligations. cute obligations, but obligations. i need to rethink the core of my portfolio.

what i really need is sleep. introducing the ishares core, building blocks for the heart of your portfolio. find out why 9 out of 10 large professional investors choose ishares for their etfs. ishares by blackrock. call 1-800-ishares for a prospectus which includes investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. read and consider it carefully before investing. risk includes possible loss of principal. [ female announcer ] some people like to pretend a flood could never happen to them. and that their homeowners insurance protects them. [ thunder crashes ] it doesn't. stop pretending. only flood insurance covers floods. ♪ visit floodsmart.gov/pretend to learn your risk.

using cloud computing and mobile technology, verizon innovators have developed a projective display for firefighters. allowing them to see through anything. because the world's biggest challenges deserve even bigger solutions. powerful answers. verizon. all right. time now, 28 past the hour to

take a look at the "morning papers." "the wall street journal." despite massive sales of its signature devices, apple stock tumbled 11% with the company falling short of expectations. the company turned a $13 billion profit and saw increased sales of iphones and ipads by nearly 30% and 50% respectively, but it still wasn't enough for many investors. the stock is down dramatically. near $200 from its peak of just over 700 three months ago. interesting to you, rattner? >> oh, it's very interesting because apple, of course, at one point was the most valuable country on earth. and what's interesting about it -- and i don't think it has anything to do with steve jobs dying. huh? >> you just called it the most valuable country on earth. i wasn't sure whether you were being glib or not. >> in any event, this really is not about steve jobs dying. these companies have very, very long product pipelines. what it's really about is that apple is a phone company. more than half of its sales come from the phone. and what you're seeing with

iphone 5 are people basically saying, i don't want to pay $600. i'll get an iphone 4, an older iphone. verizon reported the other day that the number of customers hooking up older iphones as a percentage has been growing. i think apple is hitting price resistance at this point. >> we have what are called technology bursts. and from the 4 to the 5, there's not that big of a difference. until you start to introduce new movements forward, and that's the big wall. it really is. >> so that's why they're scaling it down a little bit. they're talking about making a smaller phone. >> exactly. that's why they're offering a cheaper phone because they know they're kind of hitting their wall. >> "new york times," the percentage of the work force in unions is at a 100-year low according to a new report. labor analysts cited new laws in states like wisconsin and indiana and the expansion of companies in nonunion states. >> "the seattle times," a battery like the one in boeing 787 dreamliner exploded in a lab in 2006. setting off a volatile fire that

destroyed the building in which it was housed. the u.s. and european fleets of dreamliners have been temporarily grounded until technical issues are resolved including problems with lithium batteries that have caught fire. >> i think that's probably a good idea. >> going to be a long time before mika gets on a 787. >> let's look at "politico." joining us with a look at the "playbook," executive editor jim vandehei. good morning. >> good morning. a special treat for you today. in solidarity with my dear friend beyonce, i'm going to lip-sync my analysis. >> mika did that the other day. >> i tried. it didn't work so well. i still don't get it, willie. >> were you offended that she perhaps lip-synced? >> she lip-synced. >> i know, but what do you not get? it's not yo-yo ma four years ago. >> i have a problem with all of it. >> do you really? >> it's not a world crisis, but we're losing authenticity everywhere. this is the inauguration. >> oh, god. >> it's not oh, god.

you're actually deceiving, ripping it out. people think they're watching -- i don't know, like i said, this is not a world crisis. >> you're an advertising guy and you're lamenting the death of awe then advertise snit. >> no, that the great advertisers understand authenticity. in the scheme of things, is it a big deal? no. i just think it's wrong. >> does it hurt her brand? >> no she's fine. she's wonderful. >> let's get back to business. >> she's awesome. >> let's talk about what joe has been talking about every day for a couple of years, and that's what's wrong with the republican party. in this year's general election, obviously cause for a little bit of self-reflection. the chair of the rnc, reince priebus, says he has now the secret to the comeback. what's he got up his sleeve? >> well, you know, they've done all these autopsies over the last couple of months, and priebus will be speaking to the winter meeting on friday. we got a sneak peek at his remarks. basically what officials are saying is he has to drop a truth bomb on rnc donors and let them know the extent of the problems

facing the republican party. hispanics, for instance, he's going to say it's not just immigration reform. even if we do that, we still have the exact same problems with hispanic voters that we had even before immigration reform. so it's going to require years of retooling, years of communicating with that constituency. same with asian voters. same with veterans. he's saying that they have problems at the party level in having to repair the fabric of the party in the 50 different states. repair how they communicate and connect with people through technology. and that there's a huge project in front of them that's going to require donors to kick in a lot of money so they can retool and modernize the republican party. so there is at least some self-awareness among republicans at the establishment level that big change is coming. it's still not totally clear to me exactly how they change and how that actually affects things programmatically for the republican party. >> jim, how do they retool, though, against the forces of demographics which are working against them? numbers against mitt romney among latinos as you pointed out were terrible if you look at the

future and moving in the wrong direction for the republican party among young people, african-americans. how do they do something about that in the short term? >> i think the first thing is just realizing you have a problem, which they didn't do prior to this election. and then it's, you know, getting out there and actually i think getting back to the basics for their entire party. training candidates, recruiting candidates that are young, that are more demographically diverse and being able to talk about the good parts of republican theology that resonate with independent voters, smaller government, more free markets and doing that over years. it takes a sustained effort. if you look at the democratic success that thiey've had throuh technology and organization, a lot of that's been in the works for ten years. the stuff you can't just flick a switch. and for republicans, there's a sense of urgency because those demographic trends don't get better. they get worse. the share of the electorate that's white is going down, not up. and nothing's going to change that. >> jim vandehei, lip-syncing his way through the latest beltway news. >> well done. >> jim, thanks.

we'll see you. coming up, manti te'o speaks out on camera for the first time since the whole fake girlfriend story broke last week. we'll play some of that for you when we come back.

time now for a little sports. cnbc's brian shactman back with us at the table. this is getting a little crazier by the day. >> every time you hear more about it, the more confused you kind of get. >> let's see -- this is the first on-camera interview with manti te'o since this whole story last week broke about his fake girlfriend. manti te'o, the former notre dame star linebacker, lying about that situation in early december. yesterday he told katie couric in an interview he perpetuated the story of his girlfriend's death even after he received a call on december 6th, saying she was alive. >> you stuck to the script. and you knew that something was amiss, manti. >> correct. >> why? >> well, if anybody put yourself in my situation, katie, put yourself in my situation. my whole world told me that she

died on september 12th. everybody knew that. this girl who i committed myself to died on september 12th. now i get a phone call on december 6th saying that she's alive. and that i'm going to be put on national tv two days later and to ask me about the same question, what would you do? >> was this intoxicating in a way for you, manti? >> i think for me, the only thing i've asked is that no, i had an impact on people, that people would turn to me for inspiration. and i think that was the only thing i focused on. my story, i felt, was a guy who, in times of hardship and in times of trial, really, you know, held strong to his faith, held strong to his family. and i felt that that was my story. >> even if that hardship was perhaps exaggerated? >> no, it was what i went through was real. you know, the feelings, the

pain, the sorrow. that was all real. >> all right. so meanwhile, espn is reporting a source close to te'o has produced phone records showing more than 1,000 calls totalling more than 500 hours between te'o and the phone number belonging to his supposed girlfriend that was in the four months before she was said to have died. and the front page of the "new york daily news" and a story that's elsewhere, suggesting that the phone calls he made were to a man using a woman's voice and that te'o, we are supposed to believe, thought it was a woman. but it was a man talking in a lady voice. brian shactman, your analysis. >> get me far away from that. >> well, it leaves two fundamental things for me. one is, you still don't know how somebody could have a relationship for two-plus years and not meet that person. that still remains an unanswered question. and also, i go to the business side of it. this guy was going to be the

most marketable athlete coming out of college. where's he going to get drafted? >> i don't think it affects the draft. it does affect endorsements. football is not going to change. as far as endorsements, that's still going to cost him. >> we still don't know everything. >> katie couric, one of the greatest interviewers ever. >> manti. >> anyone after is taking their own lives. it was great. >> there's more here. and i don't think it's -- okay. what's next, willie? up next are your "must-read opinion pages." steve rattner's got his charts. keep it on "morning joe." it's a new day.

if your a man with low testosterone, you should know that axiron is here. the only underarm treatment for low t. that's right, the one you apply to the underarm. axiron is not for use in women or anyone younger than 18. axiron can transfer to others through direct contact. women, especially those who are or who may become pregnant, and children should avoid contact where axiron is applied as unexpected signs of puberty in children or changes in body hair or increased acne in women may occur. report these signs and symptoms to your doctor if they occur. tell your doctor about all medical conditions and medications. do not use if you have prostate or breast cancer. serious side effects could include increased risk of prostate cancer; worsening prostate symptoms; decreased sperm count; ankle, feet, or body swelling; enlarged or painful breasts; problems breathing while sleeping;

and blood clots in the legs. common side effects include skin redness or irritation where applied, increased red blood cell count, headache, diarrhea, vomiting, and increase in psa. see your doctor, and for a 30-day free trial, go to axiron.com. [ construction sounds ] ♪ [ watch ticking ] [ engine revs ] come in. ♪ got the coffee. that was fast. we're outta here. ♪ [ engine revs ] ♪ at 45 past the hour, it's

time now for the "must-read opinion pages." we're also going to do rattner's charts as well this block. david ignatius writes this in "the washington post." "an idealist no more. but obama didn't get much for his post-partisan attempts to unite the country other than gratuitous swipes from republican legislators. at times over the past four years, he seemed like the past learn in washington to believe in the center, but no more. now to the politics of the agenda, of the patient, dry-eyed battle to move forward on issues that matter to him: climate change, gay rights, economic justice and the protection of social programs. the country needs a president who can do more than advance incrementally a partisan agenda. an obama who could somehow rally the country to restructure medicare and social security so they can endure through the 21st century might be a great president. but obama moved in another direction on monday." jon meacham, is there a chance that we will see a different

focus during the state of the union? >> possibly, but there was a chance -- i agree with david -- i think that the most important line -- actually, it's from one of rattner's charts -- is the falling household income over the last 12 years. and there was not a discussion, not a call for the kind of sacrifice that we're going to have to do to make an investment in the future because as we all know, you can cut every bit of discretionary spending, right? and that's 20% besides defense. and if we don't find a way to put our appetites in line with our means, then the american dream of the last 60, 70 years is not going to be there. >> that blends perfectly into the charts that you made for us this morning on the housing scene. >> yeah, actually a little bit of good news on the housing scene. as everybody knows, housing has been a big part of the economic problems we faced, a big part of the downturn. it was the collapse of the housing market that sent us over a bunch of these cliffs to start

with. and it looks like finally after a few false starts that housing is really beginning to recover. so let's take a look first at what's been happening since housing prices peaked back in august 2006. and you can see that on a national basis, they are still down about 30% from their peak. and there have been a few false starts, as i said, but i think most analysts actually feel that right in here now we're beginning to see the beginnings of an upturn. housing prices are up about 4.2% nationally year over year. the biggest increase we've seen in a while. and there's some other indicators that i'll show you that are equally promising. if you're curious in terms of best and worst markets, the best market over this period since the peak has been dallas. other markets like denver and charlotte have also been very strong. the worst market, perhaps not surprisingly, las vegas. and you've also had phoenix and miami as very weak markets, although sun belt markets that participated in the boom certainly participated in the

bust without showing a lot of sign of life just yet. now, what's key to gdp are new housing starts. you build more houses, you get jobs, you get improvements in gross domestic product. and so here you can see that off of this bottom where we sat for quite a number of years, we've now had a significant almost to a million new housing starts, well below the peak and the bubble. that's actually probably a good thing in some ways. but a very significant increase that has played a role in the economic recovery. the other thing that's played a role in the housing recovery are mortgage interest rates. and this, i'm sure, is something that's of interest to lots of people who have houses. you can see, not surprisingly, that from 6.7% back at the peak of the housing market, this is a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is now 3.38%. that is about as low as we've ever seen it. i think it's about as low as it's going to go. this is not a personal finance show, but if i were thinking of

buying a house or refinancing a house to get 30-year money for 3.4% down from that 4% a year ago is a pretty good deal. >> i was going to ask you, if someone's watching this show, that number's going to jump out at you that you should probably move now or soon. how high will it go up if you wait a year in >> that's what makes markets, willie. we don't know. mortgage rates are starting to edge up. i don't know how high they'll go, but this is about as low as it gets. this all plays right back into gdp and into our gdp numbers. so if you look at the role of housing in gdp, you can see part of why we had this huge recession was this enormous negative drag that we got from housing, really for three straight years. and again, in the good-news support, what you see is housing now making a small -- not quite as big as it made back in the boom years -- but a small contribution of positive gdp. and combined with housing start

numbers i showed you, housing sales that are going on, modestly well for the economy. >> is there any correlation with unemployment numbers, income numbers with this trend? in housing? >> not directly, no. and to your point, income numbers have been weak, a little bit of strength lately, but they're generally weak. unemployment is obviously weak. but there's a huge amount of pentd-up demand. there have so few people that have been buying houses the past few years that even with those numbers still weak, there are a lot of people out there. inventory for houses is only about four months nationwide. it was a year a couple years ago. so however they're doing it, people do want to buy houses right now, and they're finding the money to buy at lower price points than they used to buy. >> steve rattner, our personal finance editor. >> there you go. >> to buy now. >> news you can use. >> how to save the auto industry in 30 seconds. >> we wanted to put up steve's cell phone in case people had any more questions. >> or if we want a mortgage.

>> steve's house of mortgages. >> you're not getting 3.38% from rattner, though. >> i want to be on that side of that trade. still ahead, nfl hall of famer super bowl champion john elway going to be right here with us. we're back in a moment. [ male announcer ] this is bob, a regular guy with an irregular heartbeat. the usual, bob? not today. [ male announcer ] bob has afib: atrial fibrillation not caused by a heart valve problem, a condition that puts him at greater risk for a stroke. [ gps ] turn left. i don't think so. [ male announcer ] for years, bob took warfarin, and made a monthly trip to the clinic to get his blood tested. but not anymore. bob's doctor recommended a different option: once-a-day xarelto®. xarelto® is the first and only once-a-day prescription blood thinner

for patients with afib not caused by a heart valve problem, that doesn't require routine blood monitoring. like warfarin, xarelto® is proven effective to reduce the risk of an afib-related stroke. there is limited data on how these drugs compare when warfarin is well managed. no routine blood monitoring means bob can spend his extra time however he likes. new zealand! xarelto® is just one pill a day, taken with the evening meal. and with no dietary restrictions, bob can eat the healthy foods he likes. do not stop taking xarelto® rivaroxaban without talking to the doctor who prescribes it for you. stopping may increase your risk of having a stroke. get medical help right away if you develop any signs or symptoms of bleeding, like unusual bruising or tingling. you may have a higher risk of bleeding if you take xarelto® with aspirin products, nsaids or blood thinners. talk to your doctor before taking xarelto® if you currently have abnormal bleeding. xarelto® can cause bleeding, which can be serious, and rarely may lead to death.

you are likely to bruise more easily on xarelto®, and it may take longer for bleeding to stop. tell your doctors you are taking xarelto® before any planned medical or dental procedures. before starting xarelto®, tell your doctor about any conditions, such as kidney, liver or bleeding problems. ready to change your routine? ask your doctor about once-a-day xarelto®. for more information including cost support options, call 1-888-xarelto or visit goxarelto.com.

this actually isn't hot coffee, it's some hot watery picked up at the gas station. let's see if we can actually make a little snow for everybody. see if it's cold enough for this to happen. hopefully i didn't leave this in the truck too long. yeah, that didn't work. >> that is so funny. what was he trying to do? >> how water will freeze in the air because it was so cold. >> that's the thing about beyonce. you kind of want to see, does it work had they're singing? i want live stuff. >> that's right. >> i'm serious. >> that's it. >> even if her voice wasn't perfect. >> but that's what you're expecting. the quest to be perfect is ruining our humanity. i mean, it's stupid. she should have just sung. what? >> you definitely want to rehearse the water-freezing thing before you go live with it. >> it's like the egg in the

summertime. >> are you all still with us? are you following? still ahead, nbc's jim miklaszewski and peter alexander on today's big announcement from the pentagon about women in combat. up next, former congresswoman jane harman and carl bernstein joins the conversation. keep it right here on "morning joe." [ female announcer ] going to sleep may be easy, but when you wake up

in the middle of the night it can be frustrating. it's hard to turn off and go back to sleep. intermezzo is the first and only prescription sleep aid approved for use as needed in the middle of the night when you can't get back to sleep. it's an effective sleep medicine you don't take before bedtime. take it in bed only when you need it and have at least four hours left for sleep. do not take intermezzo if you have had an allergic reaction to drugs containing zolpidem, such as ambien. allergic reactions such as shortness of breath or swelling of your tongue or throat may occur and may be fatal. intermezzo should not be taken if you have taken another sleep medicine at bedtime or in the middle of the night or drank alcohol that day. do not drive or operate machinery until at least 4 hours after taking intermezzo and you're fully awake. driving, eating, or engaging in other activities while not fully awake without remembering the event the next day have been reported. abnormal behaviors may include aggressiveness, agitation, hallucinations, or confusion.

alcohol or taking other medicines that make you sleepy may increase these risks. in depressed patients, worsening of depression, including risk of suicide, may occur. intermezzo, like most sleep medicines, has some risk of dependency. common side effects are headache, nausea, and fatigue. so if you suffer from middle-of-the-night insomnia, ask your doctor about intermezzo and return to sleep again. ♪

madam secretary, let me welcome you and thank you for honoring your commitment. >> you have represented our country with tremendous strength and poise. >> i want to echo the praise from my colleagues for your extraordinary service. >> i want to start by just thanking you for your remarkable leadership. >> it's great to see you here in good health. i am so appreciative of your service. >> i can't think of a person that exemplifies that balance in a public service career as well as you do. >> i salute you and i look ahead to 2016. >> madam secretary, first let me thank you for your service. and i wish you the best in your future endeavors, mostly. >> she's fantastic. i'm sorry. welcome back to "morning joe." jon meacham and donny deutsch are still with us. and joining the table, best-selling author and award-winning journalist, carl bernstein, author of "a woman in charge" about the secretary of state, hillary clinton.

>> biography. >> biography. also with us from the white house, nbc news white house correspondent, peter alexander. and in washington, former democratic representative from california, now the director, president and ceo of the woodrow wilson international center for scholars, jane harman. jane, good to have you on the show with us this morning as well. >> thank you, mika. >> let's get right to it. that was quite something yesterday on capitol hill. today hillary clinton will introduce john kerry at his confirmation hearing to replace her as secretary of state. the session is expected to take on a much different tone than the tough questioning she faced yesterday about the deadly attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi. take a look at what happened. >> when you're in these positions, the last thing you want to do is interfere with any other process going on. >> i realize that's a good excuse. >> number two -- well, no, it's the fact. we have no doubt they were terrorists, militants, they attacked us, they killed our people. but what was going on and why

they were doing what they were doing -- >> no, no, no. >> -- is still -- >> again, we were misled that there were supposedly protests and then something sprang out of that, an assault sprang out of that, and that was easily ascertained that that was not the fact. and the american people could have known that within day, and they didn't know that. >> with all due respect, the fact is we had four dead americans. was it because of a protest, or was it because of guys out for a walk one night who decided they'd go kill some americans? what difference, at this point, does it make? it is our job to figure out what happened and do everything we can to prevent it from ever happening again, senator. for me, this is not just a matter of policy. it's personal. i stood next to president obama as the marines carried those flag-draped caskets off the plane at andrews. i put my arms around the mothers and fathers, the sisters and brothers, the sons and daughters and the wives left alone to raise their children.

>> senator ron johnson who we heard there would tell buzzfeed later, quote, i think she just decided before she was going to describe emotionally the four dead americans, the heroes, and use that as her trump card to get out of the questions. it was a good way of getting out of really having to respond to me. >> jane harman, these personal exchanges aside yesterday, many of them very explosive, many of them very emotional on both sides. do you think we got any closer to the truth about what happened in benghazi in that hearing yesterday and the one in the house? >> well, i'm wearing my solidarity green jacket. i watched much of it. and i thought under very tough circumstances, hillary clinton, who is always magnificent, was even set a higher bar yesterday. i think we're -- we got a bit closer. i don't know that we'll ever get all of it. the fog of war.

the people who are dead can't tell us what happened. no question, mistakes were made. but as hillary clinton put it, we're right 99% of the time. we'll never be right 100% of the time. the bad guys only have to be right once. and so i support a continued investigation. as far as i know, the fbi is still on the case. all of the reforms suggested by the arb are important. plus this high-threat index that the state department is implementing. john kerry must make the security of our personnel abroad a very high priority. but let's understand, these people, these magnificent heroes who work in our state department sign up to put their lives on the line, if necessary, to project diplomacy and hopefully win hearts and minds around the world. and that is important. we can't just hunker down and live in bunkers in the united states of america. >> senator rand paul who has expressed interest in running for president in 2016 said hillary clinton would have been fired over the benghazi attack

if he were in charge. take a look. >> i think that ultimately with your leaving, you accept the culpability for the worst tragedy since 9 9/11, and i really mean that. had i been president at the time and i found that you did not read the cables from benghazi, you did not read the cables from ambassador stevens, i would have relieved you of your post. i think it's inexcusable. >> currently the house has holds on bilateral security assistance, on other kinds of support for anti-terrorism assistance. so we've got to get our act together between the administration and the congress. if this is a priority. as i have said many times, i take responsibility. and nobody is more committed to getting this right. i am determined to leave the state department and our country safer, stronger and more secure. >> jon meacham? >> i think if i had been secretary clinton, the first thing i would have said -- senator paul, it would have been so interesting that you would have appointed me in the first

place in order to be able to fire me. >> there you go. that would have been a good comeback. >> carl, hillary clinton has spent decades now, almost always at the center of a contentious arena. put this performance in context with the last 20 years. >> well, that's the right question because we are looking at a woman of great stature, a public servant of almost unique stat injure ure in our culture, wrote a somewhat critical biography of her, and we are watching two pygmy senators in terms of th s of their public s in all due respect to these gentlemen. >> you can't add that. >> they've become partisan tormenters. i think we have to be realistic and say why are they doing this? let's go back to condoleezza rice around the time of 9/11 or president bush. there were no calls for bush's impeachment because of not being ready on 9/11. >> okay, hold on.

>> they were failed to be held then. this is a partisan shot. there is a colossal failure that happened in benghazi. no question. >> yeah. >> and let's find out what happened. but the idea of saying oh, this woman ought to be impeached or this woman ought to resign, this is absurd. >> you know, i'm going to take a different -- a contrarian point of view to that because i don't think anyone was that out of line. they were being aggressive. >> rand paul was out of line. >> we could argue that. i think that's debatable. having said that, if we argue it too much, it's undermining, i think, the fact that hillary clinton's just fine. she can handle rand paul. >> absolutely. >> she can handle -- >> but that's not the point. that's not even in question. we're not undermining it, we're showing a disparity between the leadership of hillary clinton. >> i'm saying one person who's a really substantive person with a record and some credibility and let's look at what happened here. look, we all know what this thing about benghazi has been about.

there have been some people who really want to get it to facts. there have been other people who want to treat it as a partisan debt. >> four people died and she takes responsibility for it. >> and she should. and let's find out the facts. but the idea that it turns into a witch hunt, a partisan witch hunt, is something else again. >> jane, jump in. go ahead. i've got to get to peter. >> i want to weigh in on your side. congressional hearings are theater. they are also about something more important some of the time. this one was about something more important. but people play roles, whether we like those roles or not. hillary clinton can mix it up. congress is in an independent branch of government. and i disagreed with some of the comments made, but i had no problem with them being made. they diminished some of the people who made them, but that was the choice of those people. >> yeah. she was just fine. i just -- i'm not sure we even -- let me just get peter alexander who's standing out in the freezing cold outside the white house. and what are you hearing from inside the white house about how hillary clinton did yesterday?

>> reporter: well, i think they thought she was perfect. they thought she was excellent. jay carney, press secretary, was asked about that and said she has been one of this country's greatest secretaries of state. we should note to the people in the d.c. area that snowplows are out behind us for the first time this winter, so drive safely as they head out the door this morning. but what was striking to me, mika, as i watched this conversation, these questions being peppered at the secretary of state yesterday is what the last two months of the republican campaign looked like. this was a topic that while mitt romney didn't bring up was brought up by everybody in the crowds that we would visit with over the course of that time. it's an issue that they thought was a real weakness for this administration. they were frustrated by it. it was a point that the local leaders brought up, even if the presidential candidate himself, governor romney, did not bring up. and it's one that certainly will play well back in the home districts for the people like ron johnson and for rand paul, of course. recognize that those clips, while in the moment hillary clinton handled them very well, those individuals in particular

have to go back home and say, hey, look, i took it to clinton. i asked those questions we've been looking for answers for. and the other item that stands out is one that as we go forward for what the real lessons from this is while the fact that clinton so adeptly handled the question of how many -- how are you? good to see you -- >> that was rand paul. >> reporter: it was rand paul trying to interrupt this conversation. that she gets, like, 1.3 million cables every year which she says obviously she can't read them all, but it does bring up the question, is she, as she discussed, that there has to be a better system where an ambassador in an embattled nation like libya is able to better communicate when there is a serious concern. >> exactly. >> peter, can i ask you, it's jon meacham, is there a sense in the white house that i think you put your finger on it a second ago, that we're dealing with two sets of facts on this story? you mentioned during the campaign, the crowds were talking about this. there's a part of the more partisan media that will make --

continue to make an issue of this whereas there's more of an ideological view of what happened here as opposed to actually trying to figure it out? or is the white house concerned that the issue has legs in the partisan world? >> reporter: i think the white house recognizes that it has legs in the partisan world. in that community from sean hannity and from others, a lot of the talking points that were mentioned by ron johnson and rand paul came from talking points that you've also seen on some of the most conservative blog sites. but i don't think the white house thinks that's any different than any of these other issues. i think there was a period of time during the campaign where they thought this one really could sting, and there was -- there were potentially legs to that. obviously that was in some ways satisfied by the president's quick retort to mitt romney over the issue of terror, saying that he had brought up that issue only shortly after those deaths. >> jane harman, let me ask you before we turn, we have another important story about women in combat. you know hillary clinton well. a lot of eyes now as she moves

out of that position will turn to 2016. will you encourage her to run for president? >> i'll encourage her to take a long rest and consult with those she loves and make the best decision for her. i think, as i said, she's a magnificent public servant, someone i've supported over many years and know very well personally. and she would add a lot as our next president. and she will add a lot as a bystander during this next four years. just let me add one thing to what was just said, which is that talk radio or tv can continue to stay stuck on this issue. but what matters is what we do going forward. with the unrest in mali, algeria and through north africa, all of our embassies and our consulates are at some heightened risk. our intelligence has to be excellent. our sharing of information has to be excellent. and africom which is the part of our defense department that projects force in north africa

needs to be better resourced so we can better protect people. and if we do protect them well next time, this story will be over and should be over. notwithstanding the heroism of four, sadly, dead american diplomats. >> that's why there were a lot of important questions to be asked yesterday. i'm not sure we got really to the core. but i will say, carl, if you think george w. bush didn't have calls for his impeachment, we need to get you on google a little more often. >> not in the congress. a few. >> before we get to women in combat, also, no matter what, rand paul was bringing up a point. you may not have liked the way he brought it up, but if an ambassador in a hot zone cannot communicate with the secretary of state on the issue of security, there's something to be looked at. that's a big problem. >> there's a legitimate congressional investigation here. all i'm saying is that the notion that we have to put everything into a wildly partisan and ideological context instead of real fact finding is a failure of our politics.

and this is one more failure of our politics instead of a reasoned investigation. >> i agree with carl. >> it's time to end the political theater and get to some really important fact finding. >> but as congresswoman harman said, it is, in fact, theater. do you remember when the democrats made condoleezza rice read the title on the memo? >> right. >> "bin laden plans attacks in the u.s." and they pounded her and pounded her. >> did anybody call for her resignation? >> i'm sure they did. >> oh, my lord. >> willie, get on the google. >> i'm talking about members of congress. >> i am, too. >> that was on the the issue. >> the point is there are dead americans. there are americans who are serving us abroad in dangerous places. >> absolutely. >> we need to absolutely understand how this happened. >> totally. >> we need to know -- and actually, again, it's what we talked about with kelly o'donnell earlier -- it's not true what secretary clinton said it doesn't matter and makes no difference. we can't take that quote out of

context. in context, she said we have to find out and we have to move forward. they're two different things. >> it was a good conversation, actually, willie. >> another big story i really want to get to, congresswoman harman, the pentagon today will announce that women will now be allowed to serve in full combat roles. at first they'll be phased into roles working as medics, manning artillery, eventually could serve in positions directly in the line of fire. for the past ten years, u.s. military women have served at the front lines in both iraq and afghanistan but never technically in combat. 152 women have been killed in the course of those two wars. let's bring in now nbc news chief pentagon correspondent, jim miklaszewski. jim, how soon does this go into effect? >> reporter: officials here and in the military, the most hard-bitten combat veterans knew this was inevitable, but i can tell you the announcement yesterday sent shockwaves through the military and pentagon. because it came so unexpectedly and quickly.

and the way this will work, the military services have several months now to draw up a plan to combat, qualify and train women for many positions, combat infantry positions in the military. and then after that time, they will begin the implementation, the training. so none of this is going to happen at any time soon. and most likely, as you said, willie, they'll start out in some of the support roles and gradually work their way into actual trigger pullers, ground combat, infantry soldiers alongside their male counterparts who have been at war in iraq and afghanistan for ten years. now, the timing of this could take two to three years. so it's unlikely women will actually see any ground combat in the near future because that would be well after the u.s. combat mission in afghanistan is over, willie. >> this announcement, jim, seemed to come out of nowhere, really. let's bring in peter alexander

at the white house. any idea why now, what was behind the timing of it? >> reporter: i think at least from the white house, it sort of caught them by surprise because there was only limited review that took place here. speaking privately to white house officials this morning, they say that the white house thinks this is great, that they didn't want to interfere with the decision-making process made by the chiefs. they're expected to put out some public statement on this very topic only a short time from now, a little bit later today. but it keeps with the theme, they would indicate, of what the president was speaking about during his inaugural address earlier this week. but in many ways, this just catches up with facts that already exist on the ground. if you travel to either iraq or afghanistan over the last ten years, you recognize that a lot of women are already serving in combat in some capacity. as the congresswoman from illinois, tammy duckworth, who lost both legs as an army helicopter pilot who was speaking to mik about a piece that she said i didn't lose my

legs in a bar fight. i lost these in combat. so there are and certainly have been for quite a while women serving in those roles. >> jane harman. >> let me just pile on that last comment. women have been serving in combat for years. this fiction that they -- well, actually, this legal requirement that they can't serve in certain roles has prevented them from advancing to the top level of our military. i think the timing relates to the fact that leon panetta's about to leave, and i think this has been cooking for years. certainly as a former member of congress and one who was in a group of women arguing for this for a decade, i am pleased that it's happening now. finally, our military, which is an incubator for the larger society, has caught up with the repeal of don't ask, don't tell and the repeal of this really harmful policy will allow women who are 15% of the military and a growing percent and very capable to have the same opportunities that men have to advance to the highest levels. and i think that's a very good thing. >> hold on, donny, one second.

jim, i think i saw you nodding. it's panetta leaving you think is the key here? >> reporter: he's going to leave here probably in the next month or so after or if former senator chuck hagel is confirmed as his replacement. but i do want to make the point here, there are going to be growing pains. and we're hearing the same kinds of arguments oh, my god, you know, women are going to be integrated into the military academies. oh, my god, gays in the military. that's going to destroy unit cohesion. >> that's right. >> but those thinking soldiers, again, even the most hard-bitten combat veterans say this is inevitable. and i just want to point out what one combat trainer who is an army ranger, you know, one of the toughest jobs in the u.s. military, when i asked him, what about this argument that a 10-pound woman can't drag a 200-pound wounded comrade off the battlefield? and he looked at me and he said,

how many times do you see a 130-pound man drag a 200-pound -- you know, and that's the sense of the argument. that women and men will work together just like the men work together. and the only thing different about this, while women have been drawn into combat, is this will be policy. this will be official. they will have ground combat roles. and what this will do for women is it will allow them then opportunities to advance up through the ranks because even male soldiers or service members who do not have ground combat experience are often passed over had it comes to promotions. >> and now we're going to have more binders of women, seems to me we have plenty at this point, but wouldn't it be nice to have women who have proved themselves at every level of our military? >> i'm glad there's no political theater. >> none. >> very quick point because i think this is fantastic. but i would love a survey of men in the field. you know, there's this old saying, women and children

first. will it ever affect a battle, a primal man's instinct to protect a woman before a man? will that ever affect anything in a battle? i would like to hear from servicemen. >> i went through basic training at ft. benning, and i've got to tell you that women could have done the same basic training that i did at ft. benning and done it well. and this is a great moment for america. >> i think it's a great moment, but once again -- okay. i made my point. >> yeah, i think women have a primal instinct to protect men at times, too. >> they need protecting. >> well put. >> you know what? we'll end on that note. thank you very much, jane harman, jim and peter, thank you as well. carl bernstein, stay with us if you can. coming up next, republican senator john barrasso joins us. and in a few minutes, the executive vice president of the denver broncos and hall of fame quarterback john elway will be here on set. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. [ male announcer ] you are a business pro.

executor of efficiency. you can spot an amateur from a mile away... while going shoeless and metal-free in seconds. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle...and go. you can even take a full-size or above, and still pay the mid-size price. now this...will work. [ male announcer ] just like you, business pro. just like you. go national. go like a pro.

a beautiful shot of washington. snowing this morning at 25 past the hour. here with us now from capitol hill, republican senator from wyoming and member of the senate foreign relations committee, senator john barrasso. good to have you on the show this morning, sir. >> thanks for having me, mika. >> i see you have a piece in "the wall street journal" on chuck hagel. we'll get to that in just a moment. i'd like to ask you, first of all, what productive information do you think came out of the hearings yesterday with the secretary of state? >> i think we see a true commitment to make sure that something like this never happens again. that was my focus of the questions. so many instances over the decades when there's been a tragic incident like this, it seems that lessons are learned but are not actually then put into place to prevent a similar event from happening again.

and what i'm hoping came out of yesterday's testimony is that people are truly committed to trying to connect the dots ahead of time because there were plenty of warnings ahead of time that something bad was brewing. and i also believe that in the future, the kind of cables that secretary -- that were being sent to the secretary but maybe not getting to her by ambassador stevens would actually get through so that the needs are known at the highest level. >> and was there anything in her testimony that made sense to you, that actually made you understand more fully why things happened or made you feel like things would actually change? >> well, as she said, no secretary of state wants to have to make the call to the family of an ambassador or someone serving our country overseas about the loss of life. and i think that was heartfelt, very sincere. i think anyone looking -- i'm sure that senator kerry, as he goes forward, wants to make sure

that that kind of thing is always prevented in the future. i do think there are still questions. i think there were issues from the campaign, the run-up, what had happened in benghazi caused some of the narrative of the campaign, of the president's re-election campaign, to get involved in terms of saying that al qaeda has been decimated. al qaeda is on the run from what we were seeing on the ground is very different. >> senator barrasso, it's willie geist. it's good to see you this morning. >> thanks, willie. >> senator mccain has put this whole benghazi affair to a very stark question. he says either the united states government is guilty of gross incompetence or there's some kind of cover-up at play. now that you've studied everything, you've heard all this testimony, do you suspect either of those is the case at the end of the day? >> well, i think that there absolutely should have been a connecting of the dots. it is so clear to me, willie, that people should have seen this coming. the ambassador saw it coming.

but yet the messages were being blocked. security requests were being denied. and today here we are four months later. and there really doesn't seem to be, for the american people and for those who died, justice. either with regard to the terrorists -- no one's been brought to justice for that. now we see the uprising in africa that continues. maybe emboldened by the fact that no terrorist was really brought to trial or brought to justice as a result of the attacks in benghazi. and then in the united states, those who were in the pentagon, i guess they shifted some positions and maybe changed some titles, but it really doesn't seem that anyone has been held truly accountable for the mistakes that were made. >> jon meacham? >> senator, hi, it's jon meacham. i know you're a student of history. and as you look forward to this session, there's the terror threats abroad you just mentioned. there are issues about gun and gun safety that i'm sure are very important in your state. and there's the overarching question of taxes and spending and entitlements.

where do you put the challenges this session faces in terms of history? is this 1981? is this 2009? how are you feeling about the weight of what you have to deal with? >> well, first let me say there is bipartisan agreement that your book on jefferson is absolutely fantastic. >> all right. >> that's among the leadership as well as the rank and file members of the united states senate. >> i appreciate that. >> people are reading it all over the place. from my standpoint, we're really looking at the greatest threat to our national security is our debt. it has to do with our children and our grandchildren's futures. as i travel wyoming and have telephone town hall meetings, the things that really come up, people are saying i'm not worried for me. i'm worried for my kids and grandk grandkids, and are we still going to have america in the future with this kind of debt? who will we owe our future to? >> senator barrasso, i want to ask you about your piece in this

morning's "wall street journal." i can reduce it down for everybody. you're not a big fan of chuck hagel, as it turns out. the headline, "hagel's unsettling history." you have questions about his commitment to israel, questions about the way he thinks about iran, questions about his judgment back in 2006 and '07 in iraq. you say he has unpredictable judgment. you say, quote, time after time mr. hagel has shown himself to be out of the mainstream on important issues related to national security. in each case, later events have shown he was wrong. how do you boil down your own criticism of chuck hagel? >> well, i think you've done a great job summarizing it, willie. and last night north korea has come out and announced that they're looking at additional rocketry to deliver nuclear weapons with the united states as the aim. and senator hagel -- you know, his judgment on that in his previous statements were wrong there as well. as we look forward to the secretary of defense at a time with reduced budget abilities,

even though chuck hagel says that the defense budget is bloated, secretary panetta who is leaving saying that some of these cuts are going to be devastating to our military. so you want to have people there with sound judgment and really an ability and a very strong way to lead our nation at a very difficult time. so i have just significant reservations about chuck hagel, as outlined in this. i just got back from afghanistan last week. talking to our men and women in the field. jane harman has talked about the issue of women in the military. i was at four different outposts with different people. men and women were doing the same jobs every place i was. >> carl? >> i think reading your piece, the lead, it's a very thoughtful piece. the lead, once again, is about netanyahu, the first name you mentioned in there. and i think it's important that we recognize that netanyahu is not the israeli messiah.

he speaks not for all of israel. lord is one, i'm not sure it's bibi netanyahu. he represents a position that american jews and the congress of the united states as well need to recognize, i think, is not about all of israel. there just was an election there, very narrowly decided. 50% of the people voted against netanyahu's coalition. >> weakened a bit. >> there's a good debate going on, and the senator is part of it. but maybe now we'll get a real look at what israel is and what its government is and what represents the united states' interests. >> senator john barrasso, thank you very much. great to see you. >> thanks. thanks, mika. thanks for having me. thank you. coming up, "time" magazine goes inside how the new movie "zero dark thirty," their in-depth interview with academy award-winning director kathryn bigelow. and in just a moment, legendary quarterback john elway joins us on the set. "morning joe" back in a moment.

[ male announcer ] citi turns 200 this year. in that time there've been some good days. and some difficult ones. but, through it all, we've persevered, supporting some of the biggest ideas in modern history. so why should our anniversary matter to you? because for 200 years,

we've been helping ideas move from ambition to achievement. and the next great idea could be yours. ♪

humans. even when we cross our t's and dot our i's, we still run into problems. namely, other humans. which is why at liberty mutual insurance, auto policies come with new car replacement and accident forgiveness if you qualify. see what else comes standard at libertymutual.com. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy?

the new cover "time" magazine, also john elway straight ahead on -- and there's louis. what's louis -- did he just do that? oh, lord.

[ mrs. hutchison ] friday night has always been all fun and games here at the hutchison household. but one dark stormy evening... she needed a good meal and a good family. so we gave her purina cat chow complete. it's the best because it has something for all of our cats! and after a couple of weeks she was part of the family. we're so lucky that lucy picked us. [ female announcer ] purina cat chow complete. and for a delicious way to help maintain a healthy weight, try new purina cat chow healthy weight.

thor gets great rewards for his small business! your boa! [ garth ] thor's small business earns double miles on every purchase, every day! ahh, the new fabrics. put it on my spark card. ow. [ garth ] why settle for less? the spiked heels are working. wait! [ garth ] great businesses deserve great rewards. [ male announcer ] the spark business card from capital one. choose unlimited rewards with double miles or 2% cash back on every purchase, every day! what's in your wallet? [ cheers and applause ]

looks like you're in a pickle. yeah. can you get me out of it ? just so happens i know a chap... book any flight and hotel together and get access to our free personal concierge service. any need, any question, we're on call 24/7.

welcome back to "morning joe." joining us now, "time" magazine's executive editor. this week's issue features the director of "zero dark thirty," kathryn bigelow. >> on the cover. >> good to see you. >> you, too. thanks for having me. >> this movie has stirred up an awful lot of controversy. kathryn bigelow, i'm not sure, knew what to do with that. now she's put herself out there. she was on colbert the other night. you had a chance to talk to her. what did she say about it? >> at first she wanted the film to speak for itself, but she was -- and i think all the filmmakers, they were sort of fascinated by how the discussion unfolded, the controversy around the film. and i think they really want to be part of that conversation. and so jessica winter who's our

culture editor sat down with kathryn and about an in-depth editor not just about this film and the controversy but also about the whole arc of her work which i think really helps you understand why she made the film the way she did. >> was she -- if you listen to her in she's interviews, she stands by the movie. she says i wouldn't change a frame despite the fact a lot of people have pointed out even people at the cio who said there was no straight line between torture and the capture and killing of osama bin laden. how did she answer some of those discrepancies? >> well, you know, one thing -- i saw the film very early, i saw it in october before it was even finally completed. you know, everybody interprets that straight line differently. for me, it wasn't as obvious. i didn't -- you know, coming to it before people were talking about it, what i came away from that film thinking is that there were so many things that led to the capture of bin laden that you couldn't isolate anything, really, in a sort of sequence. i mean, a film makes that, you

know, it has to make that arc. but i think there's a lot of room for interpretation. even all of us watching the same film could see things very differently. i think that's kathryn stands as an artist. if you look at the whole body of her work, she's not necessarily interested in telling people what to think. and that's maybe something we're not so used to. we often leave movies feeling like all right, this is the agenda. and i feel satisfied. and it's a happy ending. >> actually, most films leave you kind of wondering, actually. in some ways. >> when you make a film like that which is not a documentary but dealing with real events, what do you think the responsibility of the filmmaker is to then portray those real events accurately given the political sensitivity around this question of torture, no torture, what role did it play? >> i mean, i think, obviously, they have -- they bear a huge responsibility. and i think they are straightforward about that. they stand by the reporting. >> because obviously, the people in langley don't agree with the reporting that if that's what they're saying.

>> well, it's interesting. in the piece, jessica talked to former cia director michael hayden. she talked to other people. we quote a letter that leon panetta had sent to john mccain ash around the time that all of this history was unfolding. there's a lot of different opinion even within that community about what happened, what didn't happen, what led to what. that's something we try to lay out in the piece. >> did you talk to her at all about her role now as kind of the poet laureate of the wars of the 21st century? she's now arguably the most important -- >> "hurt locker." >> "hurt locker" and now this? >> she's embracing that role. this is not the last time we will be discussing a controversial film by kathryn bigelow. >> also in time, "from chads to riches." the piece on al gore who we're going to have on next wednesday, by the way. tell us about it. >> it's about his new book which i'm sure he'll tell you about next wednesday so i'm not going to spoil it for you except that it's about the future and apparently there's lots of

drawings. >> i should disclose, i edited the book. >> you did? >> oh. >> and in my impartial way, i think it's quite brilliant. it is a remarkable survey of what's driving global change. >> you sounded like my dad. all right. >> quickly, the second part of that, "chads to riches," a lot of people talking about his sale of current tv, going to make him a boatload number. you've looked at some of the numbers. what do you think? >> they say they sold is for $500 million and he got $100 million out of it. i would not necessarily take those numbers to the bank. he's done very well. he was an adviser to google, he's on the board of apple. i don't know how big the boat is. >> financier of money. >> financier of money. >> the new cover of "time" -- oh, poor rattner -- is kathryn bigelow, radika jones, thank you so much for being on the show today. up next, former nfl quarterback and executive vice president of the denver broncos, john elway joins us here in the

studio. we hope louis didn't turn him off, seriously. we're sorry about that. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. a hybrid? most are just no fun to drive. now, here's one that will make you feel alive. meet the five-passenger ford c-max hybrid. c-max says ha. c-max says wheeee. which is what you get, don't you see? cause c-max has lots more horsepower than prius v, a hybrid that c-max also bests in mpg. say hi to the all-new 47 combined mpg c-max hybrid. omnipotent of opportunity. you know how to mix business... with business. and you...rent from national.

because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle. and go. you can even take a full-size or above. and still pay the mid-size price. i could get used to this. [ male announcer ] yes, you could business pro. yes, you could. go national. go like a pro. yes, you could. is bigger than we think ... sometimelike the flu.fer from with aches, fever and chills- the flu's a really big deal. so why treat it like it's a little cold? there's something that works differently than over-the-counter remedies. prescription tamiflu attacks the flu virus at its source. so don't wait. call your doctor right away. tamiflu is prescription medicine for treating the flu in adults and children one year and older whose flu symptoms started within the last two days. before taking tamiflu tell your doctor if you're pregnant, nursing. have serious health conditions, or take other medicines. if you develop an allergic reaction, a severe rash, or signs of unusual behavior, stop taking tamiflu and call your doctor immediately.

children and adolescents in particular may be at an increased risk of seizures, confusion or abnormal behavior. the most common side effects are mild to moderate nausea and vomiting. the flu comes on fast, so ask your doctor about tamiflu. prescription for flu. [ male announcer ] how do you turn an entrepreneur's dream... ♪ into a scooter that talks to the cloud? ♪ or turn 30-million artifacts... ♪ into a high-tech masterpiece? ♪ whatever your business challenge, dell has the technology and services to help you solve it.

♪

welcome back to "morning joe." joining us now to talk a little football, two-time super bowl-winning quarterback, current executive vice president of the broncos, john elway. john now currently also serving part of the dove and men journey to comfort campaign. good to have you with us. >> thank you. it's good to be here. >> let's talk about the incredible season you guys had. some people thought you were taking a chance bringing peyton manning in because of his injury, the surgery he had. he sat out the season prior. but you said it wasn't that tough of a decision to bring him in. >> i think we got in the sweepstakes, and when they released him in indianapolis, we got in the sweepstakes, had him sit down, talk to him, realized where he was. and when you have a mind like peyton manning and a drive like peyton manning, if there was anybody that was going to come off like he did, it was going to be peyton manning. so once he chose us, we felt good about the fact that he was going to be able to come back and have the year he had.

>> can you explain what makes peyton manning so special. his arm, i don't want know if it blows you away, the way john elway's arm did, but what is it about him, the way physically and mentally that makes him great? >> that's where you get the advantage, on the mental side. obviously, he's a great athlete or he wouldn't be able to play in the nfl. but definitely, his advantage is on the mental side, and he tries to get coverage before he gets the ball. in the old days, when i was playing, we read coverage on our drop. he wants to know what it is before the ball snapped and then it gets us in a good play against that defensive. he gives us that advantage. he'll get you off bad play and into a good one. >> he's a coach on the field. >> john, before we get into the super bowl, the more substantiative stuff in the tease, of course the picture of tebow, if manning was not available in the sweepstakes, would you have stayed with him another year? we all know what happened in new york, what a disaster. clearly he had that great run for you guys. manning is not on the board this

year. would you have gone with him this year? >> when we finished the season after, you know, in '11, the plan was to come back and bring competition in and see what happened. so, but the way that things played out, peyton was out there, available, we happened to sell him and have him come to denver. so coming out of the 11th season, tim was going to be our starter. but we were going to bring people in. >> so if you talk to some people privately in the new york jets' organization and there was this outcry, the way sanchez was playing, why don't you put tebow in and give him a shot. he said, because we've watched him in practice, he is not a starting quarterback in the nfl. he does not give us a good chance to win. do you think tim tebow should be a starting quarterback in the nfl at this point? >> the jets made the decision that they should stay with sanchez and went with mcelroy

when sanchez went down. tim can be a quarterback, but that situation has to be right. >> do you think he can find a job somewhere? >> we'll see. you never know. i'm glad we've got peyton manning in denver and we're going to ride on him. >> it's interesting, because in some ways, the legal has already evolved from the wildcat offense, and tebow is almost already kind of old news. but you talk about the super bowl and rg3 and the way they've played. they've taken the wildcat and become a different type of player. my question to you, you're still a big, strong guy. and rg3 isn't quite as big as you. can guys run like that in the nfl and have ten-year careers? because it's scary to watch them sometimes. >> you know, i think they can if they're smart with it. and the bottom line is, you look at what collin did, when he had 185 yards rushing in the divisional playoff round, he didn't get hit a whole lot. you know, rg3 i love the way he plays, his athletic ability and all that, i think he'll realize

as time goes, when he take the hits and when he can't. it's tough as a competitor, because i always felt like if you went feet first, you're losing five yards. it's such a weapon to have offensively, and if you do it right, it puts so much pressure on the defense. >> one of the guys who lost last week, tom brady. if he'd won and gone to the next super bowl, these whole two weeks would have been a conversation about, is he the greatest quarterback of all time. if he wins a fourth super bowl, joins his idol, joe montana, terry bradshaw. where do you put tom brady in the pantheon of great quarterbacks. some people say, he came out hot early, but of late hasn't been able to get that ring. >> he's going to always be in the discussion. as long as tom plays, he's going to be in the discussion of who's the best of all time. you talk about the three super bowl wins that he's had, plus, he's been close, lost two, been there five times, and they've been in the ac championship game, like this year, that they lost. but it takes a lot to get there

and it takes a team to win a championship. so tom brady will always be in that discussion. and as time goes on, and as i said with peyton, i think if we give peyton a couple more world championships, and peyton's going to be in that discussion forever too. so for me, it comes down to, i mean, how many world championships have you been able to win. >> it's kind of the reverse of your situation. you have early frustration in the big game and then late success. and he's had early success winning the super bowls and now he's had these disappointments, from the undefeated season in '07 and on. i guess not to give him advice, but how do you keep getting to believe that you can get that done when you're having those frustrations of losing the super bowl? >> well, he's tasted it, so he knows what it feels like to win one, which is the ultimate win. to be world championships, the ultimate win as a quarterback, a football player, that's what you play for. so that's the ultimate win. so he's got a taste of that. i think as he realizes, the older he gets, he still has much drive as he had when he was younger, but i think he sees the end of the tunnel coming.

so the drive -- the thing is, he will have more drive now than he's ever had and chase that. he knows how to win it, we know that. so it's a matter of just putting it all together as a team again. >> really quickly, before we go, a game coming up a week from sunday, who do you like? >> two good football teams. i think if you look at the teams on paper, you're going to take the 49ers. i think if you look at the emotional side, the career that ray lewis has had, they've been riding those emotions, did it in denver, did it last week in new england, so it's hard to quantify the emotional side to the talent side, but i also believe in championship, in the super bowl, in world championship games, that the best team is going to win. that's why, i think, the 49ers are going to win. >> niners win. and donnie, he doesn't bathe regularly, but if he did, he would use dove soap. >> that's good to hear. feel comfortable in your skin. >> what are you working on with dove? >> dove, we have the campaign, that's feeling comfortable

within your skin and had a couple of commercials about the play, about my walk, and the dance, where i embarrass my kids. so it's all about feeling comfortable in your skin. >> it's a really great campaign. >> the dove plus men campaign called journey to comfort. check it out. john elway, it's so great to have you here. appreciate you coming in. >> glad to be here. coming up next, after benghazi, secretary hillary clinton gives as good as she gets during a fiery hearing up on capitol hill. the impact of her testimony, and yes, we'll talk a little 2016, next on "morning joe." p [ dad ] find it? ya. alright, another one just like that. right in the old bucket. good toss! see that's much better! that was good. you had your shoulder pointed, you kept your eyes on your target. let's do it again -- watch me. just like that one... [ male announcer ] the durability of the volkswagen passat. pass down something he will be grateful for.

good arm. that's the power of german engineering. ♪ back to you.

. good morning. it's 8:00 on the east coast, 5:00 a.m. on the west coast. time to wake up, everyone, as you take a live look at new york city. welcome back to "morning joe." back with us on set, we have donny deutsch, jon meacham, steve rattner, and in washington, kelly o'donnell. all right, teasing ahead to a story i'm going to do second, because we're going to start with secretary clinton, first i want to know what your gut is about women in combat. ratner? >> the time had come. it was just kind of an acronym. they were doing everything else. >> meacham? >> my sense is, when you talked to people in the military, it was recognizing a fact on the ground. women were more and more in these roles, but weren't being given the proper recognition. >> in talking to members of

congress, they all said, in our constituents and home states, we know so many women who have been put in such positions of treachery, peril, injury and death, and this is a way to get the credit for being in combat to advance. >> exactly. and willie geist? >> more than a hundred women have been killed in iraq and afghanistan, hundreds more have been wounded. they're already up in those positions, if they want to be there and qualify to be there -- >> they want to be there. >> and donny? >> no brain, obviously. >> what's that? >> no brain. >> they've earned it. we continue to move in the direction of less and less difference between the genders in terms of professionalism. this is no difference. >> in almost every organization you can possibly think of, having women in leadership positions, have helped that organization. >> mika and i have talked a lot about that. i'll give my 60-second spiel as to why women are better in business, they're more

collaborative, less concerned about how big their office is, women are superior to men in business. obviously, it's a generalization. >> and i think, actually, just a necessary participant in any, you know, business or political -- it just really makes a good difference to have more women at the top. >> and also, the nature of warfare has changed. it's not about carrying a 90-pound pack. >> this is the front lines, though. >> highly technical, highly mechanized -- >> there are some jobs that they will not be able to -- they just physically can't do. >> there are some jobs men can't do. >> i think it's interesting. and i ask my daughters about it, trying to generate a conversation at the table. and they were like, what, no-brainer, like what you said, of course. it's interesting, the attitudes over the generations. i have some concerns. >> let's go to, speaking of women, secretary of state hillary clinton testified. before the house and senate foreign affairs committee on the attacks in benghazi four months ago. clinton stood her ground against tough questions by republicans

who wanted to know what she knew and when she knew it. nbc's chief foreign affairs correspondent, andrea mitchell, takes us through the contentious hearing. >> reporter: after a fall, a concussion, and a blood clot, hillary clinton showed rare public emotion, reflecting the toll benghazi has taken on her. >> for me, this is not just a matter of policy. it's personal. i stood next to president obama has the marines carried those flag-draped caskets off the plane at andrews. i put my arms around the mothers and fathers, the sisters and brothers, the sons and daughters and the wives left alone to raise their children. >> she said she takes responsibility for what happened. >> as i have said many times, i take responsibility, and nobody is more committed to getting this right. >> reporter: her critics were not disarmed. they wanted to know why couldn't ambassador chris stevens and three other americans be rescued? why were repeated security

warnings ignored? including a cable from the ambassador on 9/11, the day of the attack, the day he was killed. >> i'm glad that you're accepting responsibility. i think that ultimately, with your leaving, you accept the culpability for the worst tragedy since 9/11. i really mean that. had i been president at the time and i found that you did not read the cables from benghazi, you had not read the cables from ambassador stevens, i would have relieved you of your host. >> clinton was the political pro, massaging big egos, si sidestepping attacks when she could, and when she couldn't, givinged a gooz as she got. >> we were misled that there were protests and an assault sprang out of that. but that was not the fact. and the american people could have known that within days and they didn't know that. >> with all due respect, the fact is, we had four dead americans. was it because of a protest or was it because of guys out for a walk one night who decided they'd go kill some americans.

what difference, at this point, does it make? it is our job to figure out what happened and do everything we can to prevent it from ever happening again, senator. >> the answer is, frankly, that you've given this morning are not satisfactory to me. were you and the president made aware of the classified cable from chris stevens that said that the united states consulate in benghazi could not survive a sustained assault? numerous warnings, including personally, to me, about the security were unanswered or unaddressed. >> she counted that congress has cut money for security. >> currently, the house has holds on bilateral security assistance, on other kinds of support for anti-terrorism assistance, so we've got to get our act together, between the administration and the congress. >> reporter: after a break, the house was even tougher than the senate. >> i think when you have a united states ambassador, personally warning about the

situation over there, sending this cable to your office -- >> well, if i could, 1.43 million cables a year come to the state department. they're all addressed to me. >> madame secretary, you let the consulate become a death trap. and that's national security malpractice. >> throughout the day, the subtext for partisans on both sides, this was not the last act for hillary clinton. >> you will be sorely missed, but i, for one, hope not for too long. >> pa dam secretary, first, let me thank you for your service, and i wish you the best in your future endeavors, mostly. >> pretty good. okay. that was incredible on so many levels. by the way, that sound bite with you see hillary clinton, the secretary of state, waving her arms saying, what difference does it make, that to me encapsulates the difference between the way women think and the way men think. just look at it again.

>> no, no, no, no. that is not a main woman issue. >> oh, yes it is. >> that is the way a leader thinks, a presidential candidate, somebody who's heads and tails above everybody else in that room thinks, which is, let's talk about the issue. let's talk about the problem. let's solve any future potential disasters like this, as opposed to retroactively looking at a cable that came in. that was somebody who's head and shoulders above everybody else in the room. >> it was about whether or not there were protests. but, still. >> and one of the things about rand paul, and this is also a rook at the faces of the republicans. rand paul, ron johnson, and john mccain looked so pathetic. and to me, there's something called decorum. and when rand paul sits there, and to the second highest ranking official in our country and said, i would have had your job, that's pathetic, that's the amateur hour, and that's republicans. >> he has the right to challenge

her. >> but challenge her, "i would have relieved you of your duty." that's an idiot. >> kelly o'donnell, you were up on the hill yesterday. besides from all the fireworks, we saw a few pieces of videotape there. we did learn anything new about what happened on september 11th in benghazi? >> reporter: there were some threads and details, that were interesting. secretary clinton talked about the fact that they did not have access to the surveillance video that showed what went on for a period of weeks. i think most of us thought that they had been watching this in realtime. and she clarified that when they hear the term "realtime," they had been on the phone with some of their contacts in libya when the attack was unfolding. so there was some granular detail, which is interesting, and it's important in understanding what they knew and how they responded. a lot of what goes on here in a hearing like this is, this is a complex issue, and there are things looking forward and there are things that are important when you understand what decisions were made at the time. so whether there was a protest

or not, certainly for democrats, they've moved on, off of that issue. for republicans, it lingers as a question, because of the notion of understanding what was happening at the time, in order to make decisions on how to respond. and in the public part of it, was the public told the truth? could the truth have been made more available sooner? so there are legitimate questions here. i think when you look at tone and demeanor of various members, you can certainly judge that through different political lenses. there is wide respect for hillary clinton in both parties. sometimes in those moments, when members are asking questions, it's about really their own moment. they all send out their clips to their constituents and it's important for them as individuals. watching all of it, which is my job, i get to do that every day, so you don't have to, i think the overall tone was very respectful and it was provocative in certain places, and it should be, given how important this was. >> one of the exchanges you're

talking about came with senator ron johnson, the republican from wisconsin, in andrea piece, he talked about the emotion clinton showed during her testimony. he told buzzfeed, "i think she just decided before she was going to describe emotionally the four dead americans, the heroes, and use that as her trump card to get out of the questions. it was a good way of getting out of really having to respond to me." >> look, obviously, americans died, and she took responsibility for that. i mean, that's -- that was the first thing that came out of her mouth, was that this is on me. now what are we going to do about this? so i guess it's how you look at the testimony. >> i think it was an absolutely perfect, virtue sow hillary clinton performance. nobody who's rational expects her to be looking at millions of cables every year that come to the state department. i think she handled it perfectly. and i think she made those congresspeople and representatives look small, i

think she looked big, and i think this is the end of it. one other story we were talking about, the pentagon today will announce that women will now be allowed to serve in full combat roles. at first, they'll be phased into roles, working as medics and manning artillery, but eventually, they could serve in elite commando units and positions directly in the line of fire. for the past ten years, u.s. military women have served at the front lines in both iraq and afghanistan, but never in combat. 152 women have been killed in the course of both conflicts and, of course, we've been talking around the table about this. there are some contrarian points of view. >> there's a piece on the op-ed page of the "wall street journal" this morning, ryan smith is a marine infantryman served in iraq. he writes about what he calls the reality that awaits women in combat. he said, "societal norms are a reality and their maintenance are importance to most members of a society. despite the professionalism of marines, it would be distracting and potentially traumatizing to be forced to be naked in front

of the opposite sex, particularly when your body has been ravaged by lack of hygiene. in the reverse, it would be painful to witness a member of the opposite sex in such an uncomfortable and awkward position. combat effectiveness is based in large part on unit cohesion, and the relationship among members of a unite can be irreparably harmed by forcing them to violate societal norms." >> can we have an honest conversation about this? is there a point to be made there? >> his point is meaningful, whether you agree or disagree with him. i'm assuming once that uniform goes on, the gender lines change. and obviously, i've never been in combat. so, look, this is not a black and white issue and one could also take it to the next level and say, well, women, okay, as long as there's a physical threshold level, men or women. so, yes, we all feel the same way emotionally, but i have a feeling if you did talk to a lot of people who have done tours, they might have some different points of view, and we've got to

listen to those, clearly. >> i think it, obviously, as this piece points out, definitely creates some implications, but the bottom line, it has to be done. if we want to be there, we should be there. and if we choose to serve and we have the physical capability to do so, we should be there. >> and by the way, they're not just opening the floodgates and saying, anybody who wants to come forward, come forward. they'll have to meet the standard -- >> not a lot of women will get there easily, for sure. >> but it would be good for panetta, particularly, as he leaves, to really make a case for this. >> mm-hmm. >> really explain all the thinking, all the complications, because of the, you know, unit cohesion, also your devotion to your comrades and when they're in trouble, you know, your soldiers are always protecting one another. you talk to anyone who's been in combat, they say, you're not fighting for the flag explicitly in your mind at that particular moment. >> send in your opinions on

twitter @morningmika. i'm getting a lot of really good ones. >> no question, but on the other hand, there are very few announcements like this greeted with as much bipartisan general support as this one was. i don't think this was all that controversial. >> i would just love to make a case for it. when we come back, beyonce is feature on the cover of the new issue of "gq" magazine. the question is, did she lip sync that photo too? all right, who did that? >> leave her alone. >> it's ridiculous. she's the spokesmodel for pepsi. leave her alone. "gq's" michael haney joins us next. and his film, "silver linings playbook" is a nominee for best picture. we'll bring in david o. russell. first, bill karins with a check on the forecast. >> mika, have you seen washington, d.c. this morning? a coating of white. one of the first snows of the season to cover virginia, maryland with and the lawn of the white house. looks like a beautiful scene. a few snow flurries left, but it's just about over with. we have one other area of snow

this morning that we're watching, coming off of lake michigan. that white there with the blue in the middle, that's actually intense snow heading for gary, indiana, shortly. driving on 94 there, right along the lakeshore, not a fun drive. it's trying to inch its way towards chicago, so don't be surprised if chicago, you see a little bit of snow in about an hour or two from now. and the windchill just biting. look at those, duluth, fargo, international falls, that's like minus 25 to minus 35. not much better in new england, and still very cold, even indianapolis, with a 0 windchill. now, our friends in los angeles, you're warm, but you're wet. a rainy morning commute and that means a long commute. roads are wet around l.a.x. and all of los angeles. on and off rain should continue throughout your day. here's your forecast around the country. notice how the southern states, very warm, no complaints from texas to arizona all the way to florida, but still just bitterly cold. this will continue, it looks like, until about sunday or monday until much of the country does a big warm-up. and heads up, d.c., all the way up through areas of boston and

the ohio valley, a little bit of light snow expected on your friday. could get another fluffy inch. nothing that should cause too many problems. d.c., looking pretty covered in white. "morning joe," brewed by starbucks. i've discovered gold. [ female announcer ] new roc® retinol correxion max. the power of roc® retinol is intensified with a serum. it's proven to be 4x better at smoothing lines

and deep wrinkles than professional treatments. roc® max for maximum results. so we created the extraordinarily comfortable sleep number experience. a collection of innovations designed around a bed with dualair technology that allows you to adjust to the support your body needs - each of your bodies. our sleep professionals will help you find your sleep number setting. exclusively at a sleep number store. sleep number. comfort individualized. queen mattresses start at just $699.

and save $500 on our special edition bed set. now at the sleep number white sale.

♪ and the rockets' red glare ♪ the bombs bursting in air ♪ gave proof through the night >> welcome back to "morning joe." really? joining us now is deputy editor

of "gq," michael haney. >> i'm back. >> yeah. >> i've made something special for you. >> i saw that. michael's here -- >> oh, look, beyonce's on the cover. >> donny's happy. >> naked. >> can i just say how happy i am that mass market magazines are doing policy stories. >> actually, this is actually our inauguration commemorative special. >> it works. it works. >> is that actually her, or is it a faux sync? >> it's her body of work. >> i actually am going to look like a bitter, jealous woman right now, but i think she's jumped the shark. she just doesn't need to do it. >> she's got the super bowl coming up. >> by the way, you don't want jay-z hearing that you said she jumped the shark. >> you know, i had a problem with her pepsi spokesmanship issue. >> what's the problem? >> well, i just think that a

beautiful star like her has a lot of influence -- >> so she shouldn't -- >> i wouldn't be pushing liquid sugar, actually, on our kids. >> oh, come on. but now she's naked on the cover of "gq" -- >> that's not naked. >> i don't know. >> john's an expert. >> no, no, i am. i am. ever since abigail adams posed. >> oh, look, kate upton's in here too. >> this is our hundred sexiest woman. >> wasn't the abigail adams cover the first one. >> it was. >> why is mika not one of the 100 sexyiest women? >> because i don't look like that, donny. >> we've got 987 years to go, but we decided. >> is she number one? >> i'll tell jay-z it's in order. >> is there anything interesting in here about beyonce. >> um. yes, you know what's fascinating about her -- >> you are bitter -- >> this is a katie couric -- >> you're beautiful, smart, and

accomplished. what do you have to be angry about? >> oh, god. >> donny, don't. >> see, i'm your friend over here. you know what's fascinating about her, she videotapes every moment of her day. she has a room in her house, every moment of her life is documented. and she's got this hbo series coming up next month where, like, if she were on the set right now, there would be someone videotaping her. >> that's disturbing. >> something wrong with that. >> why? >> because she's important! you don't cdo it? >> okay, i'm with you now. >> there's a level to which you lose sight of yourself. >> as an expert in pop culture -- >> i recognize the chair from jon meacham. >> thank you, thank you, mr. ambassador. has -- does the lip sync stick with her as a mien, as we call it now? >> i don't know about lip sy syncing. it's a great cover, she's got a great body, and we'll see her in

the super bowl. do you think it's a standard, remember, she -- >> i don't think it's going to be a big deal in the scheme of things. this is a moment in time. there's really great -- what is the thread, the hundred women you chose, obviously, they're all beautiful. but you have jenna bush in there, what's the criteria? is there a thread there? >> you're a man, you know what the thread is. >> they're hot. >> they put a little pep in your step. >> one man's -- >> accomplished women, you know. it's the sexiest women of the millennium. >> oakland raider article. >> fascinating piece, we were talking about it offset earlier, but it's a great story about a guy who plays for the oakland raiders and he's accused now of some crazy crimes and we're saying, like, the sort of number of stories coming out of the nfl right now are pretty shocking. but he is -- >> accused of four murders.

>> accused of four murders and arson and yet, you know, there's a great question as to whether he did it or not. this is not a story that's about post traumatic playing, this is about a guy who was one of the great players for the raiders -- >> not to compare them, but it's interesting how in the nfl, how right now we are so celebrating ray lewis, and he was involved in the obstruction of justice on murder, and nfl versus every other league has got a level of issues that have to be dealt with. >> it's a great story. >> and lee hastings, netflix, great story. >> a great story about netflix. they're poised no to becoming the next hbo. they've got original content, a great kevin spacey show coming up. and waiting is over. it's all about live streaming. you want it on demand. waiting for the sopranos on sunday night is so 2002.

>> reid hastings says this, "the point of managed dissatisfaction is waiting. you're supposed to wait for your show that comes on wednesday at 8:00 p.m., wait for the new season, see all the ads everywhere for the new season, talk to your friends at the office about how excited you are. waiting means pent-up demand. millions of people watching the same thing at the same time, preferably at night, when they're pliant with exhaustion and ready to believe they need the stuff being hawked in all those commercials. waiting, hastings says, is dead." what a great point. >> but you have a series that comes on, "californication," it starts, but then it's on demand all week. in the case of that, you have to wait for the series to start, the only thing is, it doesn't start at the same time, but it's still waiting. >> the idea, i want to binge and consume the entire season of

"downtown abbbbeabbey" right no. >> so they're going to release the entire season at once? >> right. >> what's the business model? >> if i knew the business model, i wouldn't be sitting here. the business model is recognizing the way that we want to consume has changed. so isn't it sort of like, you get antsy. if you tell me the sort of cable model is paying $150 a month for all these different channels when there's nothing on, or i'll pay $100, and i can access what i want right now, whether it's movies or scripted tv shows and i can sort of set the programming agenda. >> what is driving all media or media decision making is customization. all the power now is here versus there. >> and that's -- >> you two would know this. i keep wondering when we're going to return to ge theater, when we're going to return to branded names in the titles of shows. whether it's exxonmobil's "downtown abbey," so at least the sponsors get something when you click.

>> that kind of branded content, the consumer's too smart for these days. in other words, when they feel it, when it's so obvious like that, the it was almost comical in the old days, whereas the real smart stuff is when you see tony soprano driving a suburban. that's a cool car. >> it's more when it's sort of, brought to you by. >> which is still what's done today. >> but would any of us know what mutual of omaha was if not for wild kingdom? >> different world. >> is there anybody under the age of 50 -- >> shut up, shut up. >> i know what it is. i'm not as old as you, but i'm over 50. >> mika's just gone silent over here. well, i've just been looking at your hundred sexyiest women. they're all naked. one of them -- >> they're not naked! >> they're not all naked. >> okay, scantily clad. one is licking ice with water dripping out of her mouth. >> do you think this is an inappropriate cover? >> and willie geist, there's a

picture of willie. >> is willie naked? >> he's not naked. >> do you think this is an inappropriate cover for a men's magazine? >> an inappropriate cover for a men's magazine? i never said it was. >> strong, powerful, sexy. she's her own brand, running her own business. >> i am woman, hear me roar, all that kind of stuff. >> next year! >> hah! >> if she's in that hundred, we won't be hearing any of this stuff. >> the next issue of "gq" magazine is out with ls of nudity. mike haney, thank you very much. coming up, it's nominated for best picture at this year's academy awards. we'll talk to the man who wrote and directed "silver linings playbook," david o. russell on "morning joe." i love this movie. >> are you going to throw anything at him? >> no, i want to talk to him. it's going to be fascinating. but i enjoyed that. thank you very much. [ man ] i've been out there most of my life.

you name it...i've hooked it. but there's one... one that's always eluded me. thought i had it in the blizzard of '93. ha! never even came close. sometimes, i actually think it's mocking me. [ engine revs ] what?! quattro!!!!! ♪ two. three. my credit card rewards are easy to remember with the bankamericard cash rewards credit card. earn 1% cash back everywhere, every time. [ both ] 2% back on groceries. [ all ] 3% on gas. no hoops to jump through. i earn more cash back on the things i buy the most. [ woman ] it's as easy as... one! -two. -[ all ] three! [ male announcer ] the bankamericard cash rewards credit card. apply online or at a bank of america near you.

all right. 33 past the hour. time now for business before the bell with cnbc's brian shactman. >> i feel strange being here for business before the bell. >> i know. you should be in a box somewhere. but you did "way too early." i walked out on the set during "way too early," when he was

doing the manti te'o fell stost i fell, right on my face. >> i didn't know what to do. >> you did the right thing, you said, are you okay? >> i fell flat on my face. it was awful. >> it was a moment that i don't -- i don't know how i -- >> you don't remember it? >> it's okay, black it out. >> a couple of things business wise, we just had jobless claims come out, 330,000 initial claims, down 5,000 from the week before. the lowest since january of 2008. so some optimism with the economy. look at the stock futures, the nasdaq still negative, and that has to do with apple. i know you already talked about it, where there are these two very interesting things here. they have $137 billion in cash, okay? they made $13 billion in profit. they're still selling 48 million iphones, 23 million ipads, but it wasn't good enough. the stock down 10%. but they could buy the nba 14 times over. >> any company in this world

that has ever had $137 billion -- >> i think absolutely not. >> but the market is interested in earnings more than in cash. and they seemed to have picked the low-hanging the fruit for the most expensive iphones and now they're selling somewhat more iphone 4s and 4ss that won't make as much money. >> and they haven't truly innovated since they lost steve jobs, so there are a lot of questions about whether they can innovate. >> i have long-term questions about that, but i think what you see happening now would happen whether steve jobs was alive or not. >> they used to always give low guidance and blow it out, and now they're basically admitting that's what they've done, and now they're going to give real guidance, which is spooking investors. >> so you're hosting -- because you haven't done enough today -- tonight, cnbc's "sports biz" on

cnbc sports network. tell me what that is? >> i just cut it down to sports biz, because it's easier that way. >> what does game on mean. >> it's like, game on! a guy thing. we're doing a big thing on super bowl ads, and we do some things with deutsche and company. and the whole concept of beyonce, what you talked about, kate upton's doing this mercedes ads, and some people are thinking, maybe this is a little too risque for even the super bowl ads. >> mika, you're not going to like one of the deutsche commercials for one of our clients. you might have an issue. >> i bet it's go daddy. >> i'm not saying. it's a wonderful commercial. >> why? >> because it's just not in your wheelhouse. >> it's not in my wheelhouse. >> do you have a problem when they put handsome men in commercial. david beckham last year, shirtless, was that okay?

>> i don't want to see him without a shirt on. i know i sound uptight, but a guy like that is really looking in the mirror a lot. you know what i'm saying? >> yeah, well. >> it's just not that interesting to me. i'm just not like that. >> how about willie with his shirt off. >> cooties, cooties! >> that's like my brother. are you kidding me? no, um, i don't know. i'm sorry, i must be a strange bird. people are kind of too megamoniacle. >> as the older i get, i don't want to be near the mirror. >> that was a cute attempt at being real. but he's still young and cute. >> oh, enter that third decade! >> you and i don't really connect on that. what am i, 46?

how many years older am i than you? >> i'm 41. >> wow, looking good! >> what?! >> plastic surgery. brian shactman, thanks. for nothing! up next, the best of late night. we'll be right back. uh, i'm in a timeout because apparently

riding the dog like it's a small horse is frowned upon in this establishment! luckily though, ya know, i conceal this bad boy underneath my blanket just so i can get on e-trade. check my investment portfolio, research stocks... wait, why are you taking... oh, i see...solitary. just a man and his thoughts. and a smartphone... with an e-trade app. ♪ nobody knows... [ male announcer ] e-trade. investing unleashed. there's so much going on regarding beyoncegate. >> anthemgate. >> beyoncegate. >> the latest on the beyonce lipgate. >> yes, lipgate! beyoncegate. the crisis in lipia.

beyonc-gazi. was there a second singer on the grassy knowles. >> mr. president, the american people demand answers. what had did beyonce sing? did she even sing it? and was that even beyonce? it could have been sasha fierce. so far, folks, in response to this growing scandal, beyonce has had "no comment." though, at this point, we don't even know if that's her not commenting or whether she was just not moving her lips to a pre-recorded silence. either way, folks, it is now official. jay-z officially has 100 problems. >> hi, it's vince with shamwow. you'll be saying wow every time you use this towel to wipe away your shame. caught with an imaginary girlfriend? don't worry, shamewow wipes away your shame. lie about doping to everyone who

cares about you. shamewow to the rescue. insert one in one in here and pull it out through the other ear. l lip synced the national anthem, put the dog in the car, sorry for party rocking? don't be. shamewow has you covered. >> this actually isn't hot coffee, it's some hot water i picked up at the gas station. let's see if we can actually make a little bit of snow for everybody. see the if it's cold enough. hopefully i didn't leave this in the truck too long. yep. that didn't work. >> oh, well. up next, he's nominated for best director of this year's oscars. david o. russell talks about his movie, "silver linings playbook." next on "morning joe." ♪

[ male announcer ] the exclusive air suspension in the 2013 ram 1500. ♪ engineered to move heaven and earth. ♪ guts. glory. ram. the new ram 1500.

motor trend's 2013 truck of the year. email marketing from constant contact reaches people in a place they're checking every day -- their inbox. and it gives you the tools to create custom emails that drive business. it's just one of the ways constant contact can help you grow your small business. sign up for your free trial today at constantcontact.com/try.

it's gotten great reviews. tell us about it. >> you know, it's a cool -- i don't know, it's a very unique story. it's written by david o. russell. i don't know if you like his films, but he's one of the best.

it's about these people, you know, hopefully we can all relate to. they're a little bit on the extreme, emotionally, and yet they come together, in an honest way. o. russell, all he cares about is authenticity. >> all right. that was bradley cooper on "morning joe," talking about the director of the oscar-nominated film, "silver linings playbook." the movie has racked up a total of academy award nominations, including ones for best picture, best actor, best actress, and best director. and joining us now, director and screenwriter of "silver linings playbook," david o. russell. congratulations on so many levels. >> thank you, mika. >> so we're friends with bradley on the show and he's come on a few times. and i haven't always liked his movies. so i told him that. >> we're not on tv now, are we? >> no, we are. >> so he's the going to hear you say that. >> that's okay, he's good. but i told him i would see this, and i thought it was phenomenal. i thought he was phenomenal. and the more i think about the movie, and this is to me the sign of a great movie, is the

better it gets, in your mind, when you think about the questions it raises in your mind, about people. and what i loved and i want to hear more about for you in terms of how you, why you did this, is that your main character is not necessarily -- doesn't have the most likable qualities. has some real weaknesses, has some real problems, but you were able to get the audience to root for him in the most beautiful way in the end, which is cool. am i right about sort of the way i'm reading it? or -- >> you're completely right. i made the picture, sydney pollack, a great director, gave me the book five years ago and i tried to make the picture for five years, which was frustrating, but also, there's a silver lining in that, because jennifer lawrence was in high school five years ago. so we got jennifer lawrence, and i got to re-write it for robert de niro, and it is personal to me, because my own son, that's why i was looking for the story. my own son has struggled with mood disorder.

and any family who's faced that, there's nothing harder. and it just grows your heart and it applies to anybody. anything i've learned from my son really applies to everybody, including myself, in terms of not being able to afford a cynical or negative attitude. so sydney pollack said to me, how are you going to do this, because it's so disturbing, yet, it could be comedic. and i said, i know from the inside, because i know the heartbreak and i know the enchantment of it. and you've got to have the enchantment. if you've been through the heartbreak, i can't do it otherwise. that's what the character says, isn't life hard enough, would it kill you to have some happy silver linings? >> there were some great lines, and jennifer lawrence as well. they are as both unlikable at certain times in the movie, as you are just so hoping that they get where they want to go. and the moment at the -- you know, i can't say where you see something that gives you hope, is so beautifully done. rattner. >> did all that make this the

hardest movie you've ever made? you went through a bunch of different re-writes, two actors who were supposed to dance, who i think hadn't danced professionally before, and then trying to balance this comedy, drama, the character that mika mentioned, did all of that add up to the hardest one you've done yet? >> yes, and i think you very smartly named all the different hard areas. and it is a juggling act, because to hit the tone properly, where you had enough darkness. we had to cover it so each actor went as dark as we needed, but also went as beautiful and compassionate as we needed. and for them to dance, and to create their own dance that was credible and emotional and enchanting, and not, not sugary that they did. it was real. because i love the score s sses pictures, but i also love frank khapra. and writing for all these people, and re-writing, to write in the rhythm of robert de niro, that's someone who taught me the

rhythm of scorsese, reminds me of my italian catholic background, it's a lot of rhythm. that's stuff that means everything to me. >> and on top of that, you had our good friend harvey weinst n weinstein. how'd that go? >> harvey's passionate. he's passionate and he has taste and he'll fight for a picture. and that's a wonderful thing to have in your studio head. and no matter what else you can say, i mean, he's in there and he has his heart and his passion in there and i kind of love the guy. >> can you talk a little bit about bradley cooper? this is a career changer for him. the common perception of the general public goes back to "wedding crashers" and "the hangover," and talk about the process of arriving at the decision to use him, and were you surprised by his range? >> i got to know bradley, i knew he'd be a surprise. when i made "the fighter," i knew that amy adams would be a surprise and christian bale, to a degree, with their warmth and a goofiness in christian and a

toughness in amy. in this picture, i got to know bradley over those five years we were re-writing. this is a guy with a lot of dimension and soul who hasn't put it up there yet. that's a secret weapon for a director. a lot of people, doubting thomases saying, i don't know, i think he's charming in "the hangover," and i say, wait until you see the picture. >> all these other movies he's done, they've used things he brings to the table, blue eyes or whatever they see, but that wasn't really actually capturing the essence of his talent. this movie does. >> he's been through his own tribulations and he was very open with me about that. she's a very open-hearted person and a very humble person and willing to do anything. very generous to everybody else on the cast. him and de niro had a father/son report from a movie called "limitless." yeah, that's what it's called. so they -- that's -- you can't put a price on that, that

chemistry. him and jennifer had to dance all day together. many actors might have said, oh, goshes with it's not my thing. they just got intimate right away with their dancing, and that translated on to the screen. >> it's really good. i loved it and i think it's for everyone, which is neat. it's hard to find a movie like that. and someone close to my family, who literally, by diagnosis and by nature, doesn't feel much, has that kind of disorder, and this movie touched him. and he can't stop talking about it. and that was when i realized, this is really -- this was a really good movie. it really goes further that what even meets the eye when you're initially seeing it. so i congratulate you. i do. it must have been something to put it together. bradley can come back and i won't insult him. alex, do you think he'll come back? he said he would when i saw the movie. >> i think we can get him back. >> he seemed okay. >> i walked out of one of his movies and he was a little thrown off by that. i think it was -- what was it?

"the hangover"? >> one, two, or three? >> i don't know, they're all the same to me. but not this one, "silver linings playbook," david o. russell, thank you so much for being on the show. yes, we are on television right now. up next, what, if anything, did we learn today? [ man ] ring ring... progresso this reduced sodium soup says it may help lower cholesterol, how does it work? you just have to eat it as part of your heart healthy diet. step 1. eat the soup. all those veggies and beans, that's what may help lower your cholesterol and -- well that's easy [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup.

how did i know? well, i didn't really. see, i figured low testosterone would decrease my sex drive... but when i started losing energy and became moody... that's when i had an honest conversation with my doctor. we discussed all the symptoms... then he gave me some blood tests. showed it was low t. that's it. it was a number -- not just me. [ male announcer ] today, men with low t have androgel 1.62% (testosterone gel). the #1 prescribed topical testosterone replacement therapy, increases testosterone when used daily. women and children should avoid contact with application sites. discontinue androgel and call your doctor if you see unexpected signs of early puberty in a child, or signs in a woman, which may include changes in body hair or a large increase in acne, possibly due to accidental exposure. men with breast cancer or who have or might have prostate cancer, and women who are or may become pregnant or are breastfeeding, should not use androgel. serious side effects include worsening of an enlarged prostate, possible increased risk of prostate cancer, lower sperm count, swelling of ankles, feet, or body,

enlarged or painful breasts, problems breathing during sleep, and blood clots in the legs. tell your doctor about your medical conditions and medications, especially insulin, corticosteroids, or medicines to decrease blood clotting. so...what do men do when a number's too low? turn it up! [ male announcer ] in a clinical study, over 80% of treated men had their t levels restored to normal. talk to your doctor about all your symptoms. get the blood tests. change your number. turn it up. androgel 1.62%. olaf gets great rewards for his small business! pizza! [ garth ] olaf's small business earns 2% cash back on every purchase, every day! helium delivery. put it on my spark card! [ pop! ] [ garth ] why settle for less? great businesses deserve great rewards! awesome!!! [ male announcer ] the spark business card from capital one. choose unlimited rewards with 2% cash back or double miles on every purchase, every day! what's in your wallet?